Finding You Again
by UsagiGoRawr
Summary: Loriana Gale is just a regular ol' traveler. She isn't bothering anyone, really! So how is it she found herself on the infamous Moby Dick without any memory of how she got there? And who is this beautif- er, jerkwad- that just stole her first kiss? Ace/OC
1. Chapter 1: That's Strange

**Well, after spending lots of time reading fanfiction and what not, I decided it was high time for me to give it a try. So here it is! My first story, yay. Joy. I'll break out the apple cider and rum. Anyways. Who knows when I'll update, and how regularly. I have a life and school to attend. So you'll probably see very little of me.**

**One Piece ain't mine, and I'm glad it ain't because I'd probably screw up the plot line anyways. Cheers to Oda.**

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><p>Pain. That was the first thing Loriana Gale felt as she slowly woke up. It was a dull, aching pain pulsing in her head. From the amount of hurt she was feeling, she didn't doubt there was a huge bruise on her forehead. She gingerly placed a hand on her head, feeling the large bump. For a brief moment she felt a dim memory she couldn't quite make out.<p>

Strange. She didn't remember getting injured. Loriana slowly sat up and stared at the sparsely decorated room she was in. It was more of an office actually, a white office with beds and lots of shelves. She didn't have any idea where she was. In fact, she didn't remember ever setting foot into this room, which appeared to be a clinic. Loriana felt a wave of nausea and collapsed back into the comfortable bed. She didn't remember having a soft white bed to sleep in either. Her bed spaces usually consisted of dirt, wood, or grass.

Suddenly the floor beneath her rocked heavily, causing Loriana to fall out of bed and land right on her bruise.

"Oww," she groaned, "that's gonna turn a shade bluer."

Funny, Loriana didn't remember being on a ship. The last thing she remembered was stepping into a dusty old bar. Maybe she got drunk and passed out. She carefully crawled back into the safe haven of her bed. Outside, she could hear a large amount of shouting and cursing.

"That wave almost got us!"

"Hah! You're getting soft old man, these waters couldn't kill me if it tried!"

"That ain't something for a devil fruit user like you to say Ace, better knock on wood!"

Boisterous laughing could be heard. Loriana heard several thumps on the wood of the cabin. To her, the knocks sounded like pounding sledgehammers. She covered her ears in a futile attempt to block out the noise. Her head was killing her! The noise definitely wasn't helping.

"Oi, you pipsqueaks stop that! Lori's in there." The knocking ceased instantly as the men outside talked. "You better go check up on her Ace, see if she woke up yet. The doc would want to know if anything's changed."

"Already on it Marco."

The door to the cabin creaked open, Lori's startled eyes closed shut and she willed herself to remain calm. Who are these people? How did they know her name? Where was she? Lori tried to unclench her fists hidden under the covers and she willed her breathing to calm down, she didn't want them to know she was awake. What if they were dangerous?

She heard soft steps grow closer as the person- Ace was it?- approached her bed. She grew still in alarm. Her mind raced and Lori counted her options: one, she could pretend to stay asleep, or two, she could launch a surprise attack and make a run for it. In which case the people outside might catch her. But then again, what would this Ace do to her right now? Well, Lori wasn't much of a planner, she just winged it. And right now she was leaning towards option number two. Safety was her top priority.

Right… Jump, kick, run. Easy peasy! I'll be safe in no time, she rationalized in her thoughts.

Lori counted down from ten and was about to launch her attack when she felt a warm hand on her head. She froze.

"Glad that bruise is starting to subside. Doesn't really improve your looks, Lori." The guy chuckled.

Wait, what the hell? Did he just comment on her looks? She didn't even know this guy and he was already criticizing her. Sure she wasn't the prettiest thing in the world, but shouldn't she be judged by what she's like on the inside? That's stereotyping 101. She mentally scoffed.

Oh, this guy is gonna get the Lori Kick all right. Right in the kisser!

Lori prepared to jump out and knock the guy out, when suddenly, she felt something warm and soft on her lips. The heady sensation made her go woozy and she was sure it wasn't her head injury. Besides the soft pressure on her lips, Lori's other senses were instantly heightened. She could smell a distinct scent that she felt she knew. It was a mix of ocean spray, and something else, something…exciting. Then the moving pressure on her lips made her snap out of her stupor.

The guy was kissing her, and it was her first kiss! The asshole stole her first kiss! It was just a soft, lingering peck, but it made Lori's eyes flutter wide open in shock to see a young, handsome man with equally shocked eyes. He had dark unruly hair and his eyes were a warm brown that lit up after his initial shock. Lori gulped, his smile was absolutely stunning, as well as his very exposed abs.

His bright smile changed into a dark smirk, and unwittingly Lori thought the dash of freckles across his cheeks were quite attractive. She gulped again, he looked like a predator in search of…something. Lori tensed in realization. She had just lost her element of surprise, and she was at a disadvantage.

"Looks like those fairy tales do have an ounce of truth in them." The beautif- no, er-horrible, jerkwad said. "Sleeping beauty has woken up at last." The male grinned again.

Loriana was horrified. This man, this irksome man, had first insulted her looks, stolen her precious lip virginity, and then called her a useless princess. How insulting.

Lori's eyes narrowed in disgust and anger. She began to power up her infamous Deadly Lori Fist. Oh yes, this asshole was going down.

Ace on the other hand, was quite relieved. Seeing her in bed so still and pale had made him terrified. He was frightened she wouldn't wake up. However the girl had woken up at last, though she seemed a bit strange.

Ace hadn't noticed the death glare the girl had given him, much less the fist that had appeared from under the bed covers. He had turned around to call the other Whitebeard pirates about the good news. Pops was going to be overjoyed about this, and there would no doubt be a party to celebrate. He could finally continue his conversation with Lori from las-

_Wham!_

Ace was knocked out with a heavy blow to his cranium.

Ding ding ding! K.O! Lori stood on the bed with a self-satisfied smirk on her face and a triumphant fist in the air.

The beautif- excuse me. The jerkwad, had finally been dealt with and Lori was one step closer to safety. Where safety was, she had no idea.

Lori jumped down from the bed and began to formulate a plan, she would definitely need one this time. She saw it only now, and it sent a terrifying shiver down her spine. The Ace guy was left sprawled across the floor with his bare back facing up at Lori.

There was no mistaking that skull and bones that stared Lori in the face. That was a Whitebeard tattoo. Lori had somehow gotten herself into some deep shit.


	2. Chapter 2: The Great Escape

**Enjoy! :D**

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><p>Right. First off, reality check.<p>

Lori pinched her cheek. Ouch! Yep, she wasn't dreaming. She was somehow or another, on the Moby Dick. And if she guessed right, she had just knocked out their Second Commander Portgas D. Ace. Fire Fist Ace. Former captain of the Spade Pirates. Now proud member of the Whitebeard Pirates. THE Whitebeard Pirates. And she had just decked him. Shit.

Okay. Secondly, realize the situation.

She was on the Moby Dick, surrounded by Whitebeard Pirates. Escape would be difficult, she was one against many. Note, a puny one against humongous manys. Furthermore, she had just knocked out Fire Fist Ace. Shit².

Great job Lori. At least you're staying calm.

Lori whistled a small tune as she dragged Fire Fist by the ankles towards a closet she had found in the clinic. It was no easy feat. She spent a great deal of time trying to not think about her bare hands on his bare skin, and huffing heavily, took a couple of minutes longer to shove the huge mass of toned muscle into the storage space and hefted her weight against the closet door to close it. Then she pushed a heavy wooden desk in front of the door. Job finished, she clapped her hands free of dust and germs and set to rummaging around the cabin to find her effects.

She found her brown leather knapsack for easy transportable use, a trendy thing- it had a cute feather key chain on it, something that prompted her to purchase it right away. The bag held her daily necessities: two pistols, four extra rounds of bullets, a very sharp dagger with red hilt, a pack of beef jerky, and two water bottles. Lori continued to rummage through her knapsack. Journal, pens, maps, old newspaper, glasses, log pose, etc.

Hmm, strange. She was sure she was supposed to have a couple wads of beri on her, last time she checked. Well, it didn't matter. Lori swiped some beri she found in the drawer of the wooden desk and put it in her knapsack. She also found a weird flat piece of wood next to her bedside. It was painted in blue and white, a flowing pattern tracing down the middle of the board to end in a round swirl at the end. She was about to chuck it to the side when she suddenly decided she liked it. She tried to shove the board in her bag, but it obviously wouldn't fit. About to give up and throw it to the side, she saw two pieces of rubber string on either side of her knapsack.

That wasn't there before, she thought raising an eyebrow.

On a whim she secured the board with the elastic straps and realized it was a perfect place to put the thing. Making sure everything was set before she left, she took a look at the closet space. She hadn't heard a sound from the unconscious pirate. She half expected him to wake up and burn the place down. Lori guessed she hit him harder than she intended.

Hmph, well serves him right!

She shrugged and was about to reach for the door knob when she heard footsteps outside.

Heart pounding, she flung her bag under the clinic bed, flounced onto the bed, and pretended to be asleep. The doorknob turned and from what Lori could hear, two men walked into the cabin.

"Where the hell is he? I told Ace to check up on Lori two hours ago. He better not be playing hooky." A voice said.

Lori held her breath, she hoped they had not taken notice of the furniture arrangement. Particularly the desk in front of the closet. It was highly suspicious, being so conspicuous after all.

The man took a glance at the brown-haired girl's still form and sighed. "She's still unconscious. They got her pretty good on the head eh?"

Who got who pretty good on the head? Lori resisted the urge to knit her eyebrows in thought.

The other man grunted. "Yeah but we got them back, the bastards. Nobody messes with us and gets away with it."

Us?

The other man frowned. "The doctor says she has a concussion. It could be serious. He said she might have amnesia after she wakes up."

Woah, what? That was ridiculous. She felt perfectly fine, abate the throbbing pain in her temple. Other than that, well, it was just her sanity to be questioned.

"Don't worry 'bout it Marco, you're like a mother hen. I'm sure she's fine." The other man guffawed. "Joke intended by the way."

Lori almost snickered. Right, Marco could transform into a blue phoenix. Hah, I get it. Then the hilarity stopped. Marco… the Phoenix? Holy Sea Kings.

Marco growled. "Step outside Thatch. I wouldn't want to mess up the clinic when I give you the thrashing of a lifetime."

The two men left and the clinic door slammed shut. Lori opened her eyes, blinking rapidly.

That was Whitebeard's commanders Marco and Thatch. She had been in the same room as those monsters. Monsters that could break her like a twig, or step on her like a bug. Suddenly Lori realized she was shaking. Lori stared at her hand and tried to stop the shaking with her other hand. If she had so much as let out a peep, she could have been done in. She could have been killed. She could have been- well, dead.

A small smile grew on Loriana's face. It was all so exciting.

Plan of action? She didn't really know. Mostly she decided she needed to hightail it out of here. Get far, far away from this hunk of floating wood. A giant floating mass of wood that also held the world's strongest man on board, as well as many other monstrous beings. She supposed she should have sorted out that whole 'Lori's got amnesia thing.' Maybe she should have sat a while and thought about it. But then again, what if they were lying? This could have been some big conspiracy, not that she was one of those people that thought the government was secretly after her, and aliens were visiting her at night, and… okay, maybe she was a little paranoid. But right now, the important thing was safety, then she could sit down on a log and think. She had bigger problems at the moment.

Lori was seriously scared shitless for her life, she wouldn't be able to defend herself on this ship. Her self-named attacks would definitely not get her out of this mess. She had no real training, mostly she tried to aim and shoot, or, get the hell out of the way of the bigger people. She was in short, helpless and weak. Yet strangely enough, that only made her all the more excited. It was like the great escape. In her head, dramatic music was being played and she felt incredibly like a person whose last name rhymed with Pond.

The name's Gale, Loriana Gale.

Lori grinned childishly. This was just too much fun. The danger only fueled her drive. She fancied pulling out her twin pistols, but decided she didn't need it yet. Besides, she had another handgun strapped to her hip.

Loriana had already escaped the clinic and was tiptoeing down the hallway, having no idea where she was going. Her only goal at the moment was to go up. And up she did go, having found the stairs. Carefully, Loriana poked her messy head through the opening.

It was dark outside, it must have been around eight in the evening. The time would also explain the lack of people Loriana had run into. It was dinner time judging from the smell that wafted through the air. It sent a pang of hunger through Lori's stomach. She wished she could have swiped some food.

She stepped out onto the windy deck with an eyebrow raised. There was literally nobody around. This was too easy, and she felt slightly disappointed. She sort of wished there was someone she could drop kick, just to feel cool. She sighed and spent a couple minutes walking along the railings to find the extra boats.

Stopping at a particular spot she focused on a boat with a strange figurehead. She knew that figurehead. It was a small bird carved from wood. This was her boat! But why did the Whitebeard's have it?

An intense pain shot through Lori's skull and she clutched her head painfully. She fell to her knees and tried helplessly to get up. After a few minutes she was able to stand but could only do so holding onto the railing. She grimaced, now wasn't the time to be weak. Loriana began to step into the boat when she heard a load roar. She tripped and fell face first into her boat.

"Oww, what the-"

"LORIIII!"

Her eyes widened in shock. That sounded a lot like Fire Fist.

"LORIANA GALE!"

Lori immediately began lowering her boat to the dark waters. There was no moon tonight but the stars were out to play. That was enough light for Lori to go by. She made haste to lower the boat into the salty ocean.

From above her, Lori could hear a loud ruckus and multitudes of pirates shouting. She grinned, they were looking for her. It was beginning to get interesting again. Adrenaline rushed through her veins as her boat plopped into the ocean, splashing salty water on her.

Lori felt weak. Though it was no wonder. She felt incredibly drained. She was hungry, tired, her head hurt, and she wanted to sleep badly. She couldn't take a rest though, because just then a flaming body of fire leapt onto the railing and noticed her below.

"LORI! What the hell are you doing down there?" The yelling pirate was quite livid. Lori grinned happily and began paddling out into the dark ocean. Several more pirates came to the railing and shouted at Lori to get back to the ship. They kept pointing towards the horizon, and Lori turned to see a coming storm. They were shouting again and again.

Lori couldn't hear them though, because a sudden down pour of rain came and there were vicious thunderclaps. The ocean was beginning to become wild with waves. Ace's fire was being put out by the pouring rain, but he still had a slight glow surrounding him. He kept yelling something at her, but Lori couldn't hear. She kept rowing. A sense of satisfaction and accomplishment came across on her tired face. She had just made the great escape of Whitebeard's pirate ship. It was a splendid adventure. Worthy of being written down in her journal of adventures.

Job well done Lori.

Now, what was this gnawing feeling in her gut? She felt like she was doing something wrong. Something... something she couldn't quite place. She shook her head, there was no time to be thinking of that. She'll have time to think later. Another flash of lightning, Lori grimaced again. She had just made a wild escape into an equally dangerous territory. The extensive Grand Line was not a place for physically weak people like her.

She smiled darkly. Splendid.


	3. Chapter 3: Freaking Lori

**Chapters have been edited**! I promise this is the last time I'm editing the chapters until the story's done with, or until I just can't stand the horrible grammar any longer. I made it so the story flows a little easier, or at least I hope I did. You be the judge of that. Chapter four will come out... whenever.

Let's see, thank you for the reviews! Especially to lilyoftheval5, your advice has been taken account of! :D

It certainly inspires me to write. I appreciate any reviews that would help me improve my writing, so don't hesitate! Again, I'm mostly busy with school (finals coming up) and I don't know how long I'll write for. I do have a plot in mind, but mostly I'll just wing it. Like I do for most of my life.

One Piece ain't mine and that's the way it should be.

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><p>Blue skies, blue ocean, great weather, and not a single dangerous pirate in sight. What more could a girl, floating aimlessly on the ocean, possibly want?<p>

Lori's stomach growled. She sighed. Well, there was _that_. Lori rolled over and yawned loudly, stretching her limbs back like a cat, bored out of her mind.

Last night replayed in her thoughts. She couldn't quite believe she survived the adventure. It was a close call. But mostly she wondered why there was a close call to begin with.

How did she get to be in Whitebeard's ship? Why did they have her boat? Why did they act like they knew her? She certainly didn't know them, she spent her life on the down low, traveling the many seas and simply scraping by. Lori had only heard of the Whitebeard pirates through newspapers, wanted posters, and word of mouth. She was positive she'd never met a single one of them….

And the last thing she remembered before last night was walking into a bar. Maybe she got drunk and they happened to pass by her? They might've kidnapped her. Lori snorted, they _were_ pirates. They could have easily taken advantage of little helpless Lori. Especially a drunk Lori. Well, getting drunk would've explained the loss of memory.

She yawned again and smacked her lips. A particular pirate came to mind. Fire Fist Ace. Anger and resentment slowly filled Lori's mind. She rubbed her mouth roughly, trying to get rid of the nasty germs. The asshole stole her first kiss, which in her book, was a first rate offense. Plus, he insulted her. He called her a worthless princess! What was his deal?

Well, she'd show him!

The damn prince. Wait, that came out wrong. Princes were actually kinda cool, if you ignored the girly ones with puffy sleeves. Plus they had ponies. Ponies were cool. 'Specially the white ones with long braided hair and…Ugghh, forget it. Too hungry, can't think.

She was starting to get dizzy.

Her stomach growled viciously. Lori was incredibly hungry. So hungry, she had eaten all her beef jerky. So hungry, she began eyeing the obnoxious birds cawing in the sky. So hungry, that she hoped a sea monster would come and let her shoot it for her breakfast. Soooo hungry, she was hallucinating.

Off in the distance, she could make out a faint mirage that resembled an island. Her eyes must have been playing tricks on her. She knew better than to trust herself when she was stark raving mad with hunger. She snorted. Stupid ocean was also trying to trick her. Well hah! She wasn't going to believe there was a damn island in the middle of nowhere. There was no way she'd be lucky enough to survive a crazy storm _and_ find an island on the Grand Line in the same day. Lady Luck was a freaking scrooge.

The birds above her cawed loudly. One of them flew down and landed on the figurehead of her boat.

For a moment the bird stared quietly at Lori with it's beady black eyes. It tilted it's head to the left, then the right. Lori stared at it, mesmerized. Then she drooled. She was liking the sound of fried chicken right now.

Hunger glinting in her brown eyes, she counted to three and dove for the bird. It cawed loudly and flapped out of reach from Lori, scratching her with it's claws. The bird flew away and joined the other birds in the blue sky above her. They laughed at the messy haired girl shaking her fist uselessly at them.

Lori cursed. My breakfast! Damn those flying seagulls. I outta- she blinked. Seagulls!

Could it be? She whipped her head to the north and trained her eyes on the blurry shadow in the distance. Was that really an island? Seagulls were always near islands. She whooped with joy. Lady Luck wasn't such a witch after all!

Lori took her oars in hand and rowed full speed ahead towards the island in the distance, and hopefully, towards food and civilization. She was already tasting the chicken.

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><p>The sun may have been shining, and the sky may have been clear, but it was by all means not a good morning for Portgas D. Ace.<p>

Ace was _not_ happy.

Last night he had woken up in the darkness of the clinic storage room with a huge bump on his head, discovered he couldn't open the door, and when he finally got out (there was a desk in front of the door for some reason), he realized he was missing dinner. And to add the cherry on top, Lori had gone missing.

Freaking Lori.

At that time he yelled her name out in rage and stormed out of the room to look for her. He stomped into the mess hall, intending to get revenge when he realized the girl wasn't there either. That was when the other pirates realized something was wrong. In a couple of minutes, everyone was looking for Lori. Ace had instinctively rushed to the deck, and found Lori with her boat out in the ocean. It was dark, but Ace could see the happy grin on her face when he called out to her. He knew then that something was seriously wrong. The smile on her face was alarming to him. It was a stranger's smile.

Ace impatiently paced the floor in front of Whitebeard and the other two commanders. The rest of the Whitebeard pirates were sleeping like the dead after getting the Moby Dick safely through the dark storm. Last night's storm was one of the worst they had ever seen.

"Ace, calm down. We know Lori's still out there, but we need to formulate a plan first." Marco said reasonably. It wouldn't do them any good if they left without a plan.

Thatch sighed, "We need to decide what to do first. Our Lori's run away." He frowned at the freckled pirate. "What did you do to her Ace?"

Ace scowled. "Nothing!" He stopped pacing and breathed out a heavy sigh. Well, he did kiss her. But she couldn't have run away for just that. She was probably avoiding him because of what happened a few days ago. Ace ungracefully plopped down on the deck and rubbed his face with his hands. He was exhausted.

"We're wasting time! We need to find Lori fast. What if the marines get to her, or what if enemy pirates find her? What if she's drowning and there's no one to save her? What if, a giant Sea King decides it wants to have a brunette for breakfast!" Stressing about all the things that could happen made him feel like he was getting an ulcer. The unruly, dark-haired man got up and paced the deck again. Freaking Lori, causing trouble even when she wasn't here.

Marco and Thatch sighed at their fellow brother's antics.

"Whose the mother hen now?" Marco said to Thatch, who only shrugged.

"Still you." Thatch roared in laughter and slapped his knees. Marco just rolled his eyes. The blonde pineapple haired man was too tired to return insults.

Whitebeard sat silently. The humongous man stared off into the distance in deep contemplation. He worried over his daughter's safety, like Ace. But he knew she could take care of herself, she was a Whitebeard pirate in any case. Whitebeard pirates were strong.

The problem was whether she remembered she was one.

A frustrated growl escaped the second commander. "Oyaji, let me go after her! She's in my division. Her safety is my responsibility!" Ace looked at his father figure with determined eyes. The pirate captain stared at his son grimly for a few moments. He seemed to be contemplating something.

The older man nodded. "I'll let you go Ace." He said finally. The young devil fruit user's eyes lighted up. "But you must be careful."

He looked confused. "Marines and other pirates won't be any trouble for me."

"Gurararararara!" Whitebeard chuckled. "I'm sure they won't be Ace. I meant that you should take precaution going after Lori." The other two commander's showed understanding. They exchanged worried glances.

Ace raised an eyebrow. "Why?" He asked simply. Ace didn't want to beat around the bush, there was no time to waste. Some Sea King might get to Lori before he did. He had to make sure that didn't happen, for more than a few reasons. His eyes softened. Lori…

Whitebeard looked on at the sea grimly. "She may have memory loss, Ace. She might not recognize you, and could deem you as a threat."

Ace blinked in shock and surprise. He remembered Lori's smile from last night. The stranger's smile.

That wasn't her usual goofy smile, he'd know. Ace slowly nodded in understanding. Could all her memories really be gone? All the time she was with them? With him? Did she really have amnesia? Or, …was she simply trying to leave them again? He didn't know, and he couldn't discuss it with the others. He promised her.

Ace growled in frustration. Secrets shouldn't be kept in the crew- in the family. But he made a promise, and Ace kept his promises. He sighed. He would only be able to know for sure whether she had amnesia or not by finding her.

"I understand Oyaji." Ace fixed his orange hat on his head gloomily, the hat shadowing his eyes. He felt a certain sense of nostalgia, going after Lori. This time, he would be chasing after her for a different matter entirely. And under much different circumstances.

Freaking Lori, she just had to get herself hit on the head.

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><p>Ace may be a little OOC at first, but I'm working on it. Practice makes... better. :D<p>

And Lori, is simply Lori. She'll develop as we go. I promise, she's won't be that crazy... yet.


	4. Chapter 4: Got Rum?

**Again, to those that didn't see what I stated in Chapter 3: The first three chapters had been REVISED a bit. The end.**

**Lalalalalalala ka BOOM!**

**Anyways. Here's chapter four! Finals are OVER haha, -dies- I feel like a load is off my shoulder. I'm just gonna go sleep... for a week.**

**One piece is the property of Oda! Lalalalala. –screech-**

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><p>Lori strained against the oars, fighting against the waters to get to the island's harbor. From where she was, she could see that the island was inhabited. There was a large amount of forestry and cliffs on one side of the island and a bunch of white stone buildings on the other side. No doubt that was were the town was, she just hoped they were friendly.<p>

"Row, row, row your boat. Gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is just a dream.~" Somehow the song always hit her as strange, and it wasn't her off-key notes that bothered her.

Why would anyone row a boat down a stream? Why not just let the current take over? Which way was up and down a stream anyways?

She sang the song again, mostly to keep her mouth busy from drooling. "…merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily…."

Life is just a dream.

Aye, and the aching pain in her arms were a figment of her imagination. If Lori weren't so hungry, and if she weren't so tired, she would've taken the time to analyze the song in depth. Reality was just a dream, then what were dreams? Reality?

Lori sighed. Her brain wasn't really working right now, and she didn't care, having finally reached the island. Lori docked her tiny boat, and with sigh of relief, jumped onto the wooden planks of the harbor with a thud of her worn out shoes. She stretched out her arms and legs to work out the kinks. Her boat was to the far, far left of the port; it was a stark contrast to the bigger ships on the other side. If Lori had been paying attention to her surroundings like usual, she would've noticed the marine flag on one of the ships, but instead, she focused on the smell of food drifting from the market place north of the shipyard.

She took a large sniff and wiped the drool from her mouth. There was a tiny hint of it in the salty breeze, but she could smell it.

Steak. Well it ain't fried chicken, but that'll have to do.

She shouldered her knapsack and zombied her way past the busybody sailors and shouting seamen to the bustling market. People were everywhere bargaining for their daily necessities. The market was colorful with tapestries, jewelry and flowers, as well as fruits and vegetables. Walking through the market aisles, she could see a bunch of stalls with fish and other produce. Merchants were yelling for people to buy their goods ("For 19.99 beri, plus shipping!" and "You know you wanna!") Kids were running around and bumping into tourists. From the corner of her eyes, Lori saw a few purses getting snatched. Well she wasn't one to spoil a party. That was just the way some people got their dinner. Sometimes it was her way of getting dinner too.

Lori moved on. She needed to find a place to eat before she collapsed.

She looked left and right for a restaurant or tavern, mostly following her nose, winding through the market and finally stopping in front of the source of the beefy smell.

The tavern wasn't a nice looking place, with it's dusty windows and dim lighting, but it wasn't bad either. Besides, who was she to judge on looks? All she just wanted was some food. The name of the place was quite promising as well:_ Got Rum? _

Not yet I haven't, she thought dryly.

She briefly hoped there weren't any dangerous people in there, but stepped into the dark tavern anyways. That's usually what hunger did to her- make her stupid.

Luckily for her the tavern was mostly empty since it was still daylight, save for a couple of really wasted old men passed out in a booth. Lori sat at the bar and called the barkeep over. He was a middle-aged man with a passive face. He was quite sturdy-looking though, no trouble makers or rioters in this tavern.

"Hey, um, could I get some of that steak I've been smelling," She paused "uhh…"

The barkeep nodded. "The name's Jeff. Anything to drink?" He asked gruffly.

Lori couldn't help it. "Got rum?"

Jeff rolled his eyes and Lori grinned.

"Very original."

She laughed, "Please, you practically set that up." Her stomach growled and she smiled sheepishly at Jeff. "Make it snappy?"

"Coming right up," he promised.

A couple of moments later Lori was stuffing her face through the fourth plate of steak and fried rice.

"Cheff, fis is…vrrelly..ghuud ssteak!"

Jeff looked at the brunette in utter disgust and a twinge of fascination. She was now plowing through her sixth plate of rice and fifth plate of steak. Never before in his five years working at this bar had he seen a person eat that much in one sitting. He guessed that Lori just complimented him rather than insulted him.

"…Thanks kid."

"Fit's Vouri!" She flushed her food down the drain with a swig of rum. "It's Lori, and your welcome."

Jeff's mouth twitched. "You sure eat a lot."

She grinned, "Hah, this is nothin'. I know a guy that could eat twenty of these in the time I took…" Who was it again..? Oh well, never mind. She patted her stomach and burped. "By the way, what island is this called?"

"Marigold Island." He raised an eyebrow, "You're not a local?"

Lori nodded, remembering the yellow flowers she saw in the market. Perhaps it was an island trademark. "Yup. I'm a traveler, you can't tell? A storm practically blew me here, so I have no idea where I am."

"Well that explains your get up at least." Jeff snorted. "You'd look like a local if it weren't for your messy clothes." Lori looked down at herself. He was right, her clothes were in tatters, and streaked with mud. Her hair was probably really dirty and tangled too.

She didn't know what the locals looked like, however she wasn't surprised by his observation. Lori knew she was an average looking girl.

Jeff took to wiping the mugs with a rag. "I don't know where you were before, but this island's a little past the midpoint of the Grand Line. We didn't have any storms in the past few days either."

Lori dropped her fork and her eyes widened in shock. "What?"

Jeff looked up and frowned. "We didn't have any storms lately?"

"No, no before that!"

"This island is past the middle point of the Grand Line."

Lori blinked rapidly in surprise. How far did that storm take her? "I was supposed to be near the beginning of the Grand Line!" Near that lighthouse and the grumpy old man.

It was Jeff's turn to be surprised. "That may be one hell of a storm you got yourself into."

Lori scoffed in disbelief. "No kidding…" She knew the Grand Line was full of surprises, but this was a little bit too much for her. She shook herself out of shock. She needed some alone time. Specifically thinking time please.

"Thanks for the food." Jeff nodded in acknowledgment. Lori hopped off the stool and placed a wad of beri on the bar counter. "Got a place for me to stay too?"

Jeff nodded, "I have a room upstairs. You could stay there." He handed her the keys. Lori mouthed her gratitude and shuffled off to her room.

Once inside with the door locked, she took a quick once-over of the simple single bed room and surprisingly clean bathroom and dropped her stuff on the bed. Her first matter of business was to get cleaned up. She needed a bath (after all that chaos last night) and though Jeff was too polite to say anything, she knew she probably reeked. With her stomach full and a place to sleep for the night, all Lori needed now was a nice long bath to ease out the weariness and confusion.

Lori stepped into the bathroom and turned the shower knobs until the water ran warm. She plugged the tub and stripped off her clothes. She shuddered with satisfied delight as she eased herself into the tub full of warm water, then slid back and enjoyed the soak.

Lori sighed. She was finally safe enough, and full enough, to let herself calmly analyze the situation surrounding her.

She closed her eyes in contemplation. A little past the midpoint huh…

What had she gotten herself into? She replayed last night's adventure in her mind. Waking up on Whitebeard's ship, Fire Fist Ace, freak storm, and now Marigold Island.

Loriana cursed silently and suddenly slammed her fist on the white porcelain of the bathtub in frustration. She sighed with a hint of irritation at herself, and everything else that wasn't going the way she liked. This wasn't how she was supposed to travel on her journey. Not like this. She was supposed to go island by island through the Grand Line, and write out her happy adventures slowly. She was supposed to record everything she could about the places she visited and the people she met, until finally, she reached the end of the road.

One Piece.

That was where her adventuring would end. But suddenly she had found herself already so far ahead in her adventures! Things were progressing too fast for her. She didn't want some damn storm to give her freebie shortcuts. What the Moby Dick! What was she supposed to do now? Annoyance was something she wasn't used to. She slammed her fist on the side of the bathtub again, fighting the urge to throw a tantrum.

Freaking Grand Line and it's crazy ass storms. Freaking Lady Luck! Lori knew it was too good to be true. That witch tricked her into thinking that finding this island was good luck. Hell, Lady Luck must have been handing out bad luck like she was some whore, and freaking Whitebeard, and that darned beautiful Fire Fist. What was that about amnesia again? Right. That Marco guy had said she might have amnesia. She doubted it though. She didn't feel as if she was missing anything. There was no feeling of emptiness, or- or a blackout. She just woke up, in a strange place. It happens. Maybe there were a couple things that were strange, but isn't that what life was? A big incoherent mess of strange.

There was no way she'd join a pirate crew either, even if it WAS the Whitebeard pirates. They'd just get in the way of her adventuring. She wanted to do this journeying solo.

Lori slouched into the bath water until the water barely reached her nose. She blew out so that the water bubbled. Thinking about it, she probably just got really drunk at that first island she went to and blacked out. She had once read somewhere that when a person was so drunk, they could do a bunch of things and later have no recollection of what happened during that time. A black out was the perfect term for it.

Lori remembered docking her boat at that island, walking into a bar and drinking lots of rum to celebrate her safe passing of Reverse Mountain from South Blue.

Then what? Lori frowned under the water and furrowed her brows in thought. She had… challenged someone to a drinking contest… then…?

Lori clutched her head in pain and abruptly stood in the bath tub, the water trickling down her body and hair. She gasped at the shock of the pain, but slowly calmed her breathing, one hand against the bathroom wall for support.

"What the hell?" Lori rubbed her face tiredly, and decided it was time to get out of the tub. The throbbing in her head slowly ceased and she was too tired to stay angry or frustrated. There were traces of images in her head that flashed by her mind. It was disorientating.

She turned the water back on and quickly showered. Then Lori got out of the tub and patted herself dry with a clean towel readily placed in the bathroom.

The bathroom was full of warm mist from the shower and Lori idly glanced at the large mirror behind the bathroom sink. The girl looking back at her was a seventeen year old women-child. She was in that awkward phrase where she was still a child, yet also an adult. In a way, her journey was like a coming of age thing. She needed to see the world with her own eyes, and judge for herself the people living on this earth. Then she'd decide what she thought was right or wrong.

She scoffed. But really, it was just an excuse. She knew that she was just trying to leave what she didn't like behind.

She stared at herself in the mirror, turning her face this way and that.

Lori pouted, and the light brown-eyed girl pouted also. She smiled, and the brown haired girl smiled also. Chuckling to herself, she stuck her tongue out at the mirror.

The women-child in the mirror smiled, before disappearing out the bathroom.

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><p><strong>By the way, simply curiosity, but what do you readers think you want to see in this story? Please review!<strong>


	5. Chapter 5: Snap Crackle Pop!

**Hmmmmmmmmmmm strange.**

**Lolololololololtralalalaalaaa.**

**I'm thinking of changing the genre to Humor/Adventure. Still unsure though, don't worry there's still going to be traces of romance with a certain freckled face pirate. ;D**

**Oh decisions, decisions. What do you think?**

**Mikila94: I'm glad you noticed that I didn't specify anything about a tattoo on Lori. Well, my lips are sealed as of yet! Heheheh. :D**

**Disclaimer: One Piece is Oda's. But Lori is my drunken creation, after bottles and bottles of apple cider. Because I do love my apple cider.**

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><p>Ace was in a sort of dilemma. He needed to find Lori, and fast.<p>

However, he didn't know where to start looking. Who knew what she could get herself into without him watching her back? Because, lets face it. Lori was a trouble magnet. And now she was a trouble magnet with amnesia. Supposedly. Well, either way. He didn't know how far her amnesia extended to in her memories, but he knew she needed him to protect her from all the big bad people out there.

Of course, that excluded him.

Sure, he was a pirate. And yes, maybe he _was_ bad- in the sexy way. No, he was not being conceited. Well, okay maybe a little. But hey, with this face and these muscles of his – he was only being honest. Besides, the expressions that appeared on Lori's face when he hovered over her with a scheming smirk on his face- perhaps invading more personal space than she liked- sure seemed to back him up on this.

Anyways, Lori was probably out there in quite a bit of a mess, or at least about to be in one.

Ace imagined a small Lori being circled by a pack of wolves, and not the animal kind either. He pictured several ugly faced grunts licking their lips at the helpless princess with tears in her eyes and a trembling hand to her mouth.

Of course, the trembling was for a different reason entirely.

Reality kicked the helpless looking Lori over in Ace's mind, and suddenly he envisioned the small Lori rising to stand with her hands on her hips and proceeding to knock out all the grunts in the head with a Lori Punch.

He scoffed.

Well, all right maybe Oyaji was right. Lori was perfectly fine without him, and she wasn't such a weak little princess, but he couldn't help but feel anxious. It was like how he worried about his younger brother Luffy.

Both of them were pretty dense, they liked adventures, and they were both idiots. Good idiots, but idiots nonetheless. They also got into way too many troublesome situations, on purpose.

Now that he thought about it, they were pretty similar. He pictured their faces next to each other and suddenly burst out laughing. Their dim looking eyes and slackened jaws were much too alike in his mind.

The black haired youth sat down on his means of transportation and rested his arms on his knees. He languidly stared up at the blue sky and watched the clouds drift off to other seas. He exhaled heavily. He had already left the Moby Dick in a hurry, eager to start tracking Lori down. Yesterday's storm could have taken her anywhere in the Grand Line, especially on that little boat of hers. However, now he was at a standstill. He left in a rush, but he had no idea where to go to find her. All around him was an endless blue ocean. He felt his Striker drift along the calm waves of the sea.

Freaking Lori, she just had to get knocked in the noggin.

Ace pushed his orange hat off his hat to settle on his back and stood. He powered up his flames and set his feet so that it was on the pads of the Striker. Instantly, his one man boat moved forward rapidly and Ace could feel the biting wind on his freckled cheeks. He didn't know where to find her, but he decided there was no point in waiting around and watching the clouds float by.

Ace decided to head to the nearest island he could find and hope someone saw her. Though he really didn't want to get his hopes up at the moment. Lori was difficult to track, based on his experiences from last time. Even on the Moby Dick, though it was quite a large ship, she could vanish into thin air.

He didn't know how she could do it. When he tried to ask her she simply smiled a devious one and told him, "Up yours flame boy, I got my secrets."

Right. Secrets. Well he had a couple of those, so he didn't press further. Yet the mysterious gleam in her eye had him wide awake at night. It was certainly surprising to him. Lori didn't seem like a person with secrets. Not that laughing, innocent-eyed brunette at least. It was weird.

Based on his location, Ace knew it'd take him at least a day or so to get to the nearest island. And if he remembered correctly, that would be Marigold Island.

Ace blew out a large breath and focused his determined eyes on the horizon.

Stick tight Lori, your pirate is comin' to get you.

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><p>Loriana stood in front of her bed with her arms folded across her chest. Her things were splayed out on the bed for her to see. Journal, log pose, that weird wooden board, her twin pistols and the extra hand gun, dagger, money, and more.<p>

Everything but an extra pair of clothes.

She growled in utter annoyance. She hadn't thought about what she would wear after her bath. All she had was her tattered and mud stained clothes from last night. She couldn't just walk out to the market with a towel wrapped around her body. She didn't want to attract any unwanted attention. Especially from any sleaze balls in town. It'd totally ruin her whole 'I'm an observer, not a performer' routine. Plus she didn't want any trouble on this island.

What now? Lori thought.

She supposed she could wear her old clothes, but well, then she'd have to shower again. However she had no choice, and so she put on her clothes resignedly. The dirty T-shirt and pants were less noticeable than a single towel at least. Lori quickly brushed her hair and let it fall down to the middle of her back. She didn't want to take the trouble to make herself all pretty, being in dirty clothes after all. Besides, who did she have to impress?

A certain pirate's freckled face flashed in her mind before she waved the image away with her hands.

Shoo, unwanted faces, shoo.

She hoped she'd never have to see any of the Whitebeard pirates again. Her head hurt every time she tried to think past her memories of a few days ago.

Lori packed all her things back in her bag and left her room. She nodded to Jeff on her way out _Got Rum?_ and made her way back to the market. The sun was still in the sky, but the sky was getting a dusty burgundy. Judging by the angle of the sun, Lori presumed it must have been around six in the evening. Luckily the market was still open, and Lori walked around to find the clothing stalls.

There were less people now in the market, but the stalls were still open. A couple of locals were arguing over the price of fish ("I don't need no shipping and handling. Curse your ridiculous fees! I'll just take the fish and be done with it!"), and there was a rabble of kids comparing how much they were able to steal with each other ("In your face! I got TWO wallets. Eat dust midget!").

Lori stopped at a stall and looked through the merchandise. There were mounds of many styled shirts, pants, underwear, and even hats in any color she could think of. She wondered briefly if she wanted a hat, and decided she did. For some reason she felt uncomfortable without something on her head, which was strange since she'd never taken to wearing a hat regularly before. She took her time to pick out two plain white T-shirts, a white tank top and black tank top, a white bra and a couple undies, and a pair of jean shorts and black shorts. Basically, her regular, average citizen attire.

She also picked out a beige dark patterned wrap with fringe that could double as a long skirt or scarf (She'd seen a couple locals wear it), some dark combat boots with her size, comfy yet sturdy sandals, a black bikini and a pinkish leather cowboy hat. She ignored her common sense which told her the cowboy hat would attract attention; the hat was just too perfect in her eyes- it was pink! Heh, too cute.

She smiled quietly to herself and looked up to find the stall owner's suspicious eyes on her.

Lori raised an eyebrow. "I'm paying for all this you know."

"Right." Was the only reply she got.

Lori rolled her eyes and produced a wad of beri for the rude lady to see. The lady's eyes brightened instantly and she smiled her customary polite smile. "Please take your time!"

Lori snorted. Lady, people like you are the reason we have middle fingers.

"I'm done here, thanks." She handed over the clothes and the lady rang it up to be a total of 3140 beri. A pretty good deal, and Lori would have been overjoyed, if the lady hadn't been so rude earlier. She tossed the lady some beri and waited for her to count up her change, then she left before she could consider giving the lady a middle finger. She may have been rude, but Lori wasn't going to take anymore time here than necessary. Besides, that would have caused a commotion.

She had spent an hour looking at clothes, and she was getting hungry again. The sun was starting to set, and the sky was changing from a pinkish scarlet to dark azure.

Lori made her way back to the tavern with her new clothes in a bag, to see that it was well lit, and Jeff was busy with customers. The tavern was filled with laughing men in white uniform. Lori instantly recognized them as marines. For some strange reason she felt a tingle in her spine. She felt like she shouldn't be here, but too late she had already walked into the tavern. Lori felt the urge to run, but willed herself to keep walking forward, hunger forgotten. None of the marines paid any attention to her. They only saw a dirty looking local girl. They kept on jostling each other and toasting to some unknown victory.

Whew… breathe. Just greet Jeff regularly. That's right. Smile… Now go up the stairs…. Open the door. Go in, and close the door. Now lock it!

Lori clicked the door lock and breathed out a heavy sigh. She leaned against the door and slid down until she sat on the floor, her bag of clothes settling at her side. She blew her bangs out of her face.

What was _that_?

Her heart wanted to jump out of her ribcage and she was sweating like a student taking their final exams. From in her room she could hear the laughing marines downstairs. Her arms shook and she folded them against herself, holding them there to try and still her beating heart.

She smiled darkly. This was just too much adrenaline for her to take. She was getting over excited again. Usually she passed her days calmly, observing her surroundings and flitting away to another island to record new stories in her journal. She tried to not get into any trouble if she could help it.

Key word being 'tried.'

Curiosity was sometimes a real thorn in the rear. Well, here she was now, feeling the urge to get into a fight for something other than curiosity. And marines! Why marines?

What was wrong with her lately?

Lori shook herself out of her thoughts, and set her stuff on the bed. She changed into a white T-shirt and black shorts, and set her dirty clothes aside to be thrown out later.

She opened the window in the room, feeling the need for fresh air. The moon was already shining high in the sky.

Today, she'd take it easy. But first things first, she had to record the last few days. She laid out on the bed and pulled out her journal and a pen.

Time to record the day's adventures! It felt like it had been a long time since she last opened her journal. Lori flipped her white leather bounded diary open and landed on a random page. She flipped through the pages of her old adventures from South Blue to find the place she stopped at last, quietly humming to herself.

Row, row, row your boat. Gently down the…

_Mountain…lighthouse…grumpy man…large whale…_

Hmm, should be around here.

_Apparently the whale's name is Laboon. That old man said something like he's waiting for some pirates that left him fifty years ago. That poor whale, his friends may already be dead…_

She flipped the page again, expecting a blank page, only to be surprised by the scrawls of ink on the paper.

She sat up instantly and stared at the page with creased eyebrows. Her eyes darted along the rows of her writing – yes, it was her penmanship! She recognized the messy scrawl that varied between printing and handwriting.

_Met this man at the bar… drinking contest…hah, I won…_

Lori gulped. Did she write and just not remember? Drunk writing- when she blacked out? There were more pages written on! She flipped a couple of pages more and read a few lines.

_The damn guy won't stop chasing me. I told him I was sorry! The beau- I mean, that jerkwad, needs to chill. It was just a –_

Jerkwad? She skipped a few more pages. What…

_It's strange. I already know how to use… these new powers…At least now…_

New powers? Lori was breathing rapidly, her hands shook. She shivered- and it wasn't because of the open window.

What is this? She dropped her journal onto the bed and it closed shut. She stared at the blank cover of her journal, horrified.

Why was there writing in her journal? There must have been a hundred pages in there she didn't remember writing. How was that possible?

Lori was breathing hard. She shoved her book under the pillows, afraid to look at it.

So she was right. She did have a drinking contest… with someone. But who?

She stared at the pillow, as if she could see the white journal underneath it. The answers were all there.

Did she drink with the 'Jerkwad'?

She frowned. She mustn't assume that. And what are these new powers?

Lori wanted to continue reading, but she was afraid. She was afraid, because she suddenly thought about what Marco the Phoenix said. What if he-Marco- was right? What if she _did_ have amnesia? What if it wasn't just because she got drunk? Was it possible? Or maybe this was all some ploy. Yes it had to be! However the seed of doubt was already there in her mind.

But then again… why would anyone go so far to trick her? There were at least a hundred pages in there, all in her handwriting. She couldn't have written it in the span of a few days.

Lori blinked. Which led her to the next question… just how many days did it take her to write that many pages? Her eyes widened in dread. How many weeks, months…years! No, no, it couldn't have been more than one year. Right?

She thought rapidly, and flung herself at her knapsack and emptied out the contents. Where was it? Where was that old newspaper?

She pushed the other contents out of the way until she had her hands on the newspaper. She scanned the newspaper for dates and finding what she was looking for, slumped back to sit on her heels, deep in shock. She let out a long breath of air. The old newspaper wasn't as old as she thought it was.

She had started her journey in the middle of summer…two years ago. It had been a full two years. She had _forgotten_ two years of her adventures.

Then Marco was right.

She did have amnesia. Right?

The revelation startled her and she felt like her world was spinning upside down and inside out. What was real? What was fake? What was a dream, and what was reality?

_Merrily merrily merrily merrily... Life is just a dream. _The song started to play in her mind like a broken record.

She didn't forget the span of a few days because of a stupid drunk fest. And that freak storm wasn't so freaky after all. She had traveled all the way from the beginning of the Grand Line to somewhere in the middle of it, weaving her way through the islands and making her way to... Wait, no. She was on Whitebeard's ship when she woke up. How did she get on Whitebeard's ship? She wouldn't have willingly gone.

Lori rubbed her forehead tiredly, her bruise still throbbing. There was too much for her to think about. She glanced at the pillow between her fingers.

Curiosity taking hold of her, Lori crawled to the pillow and sat in front of it for a long time, fighting an internal battle.

She wanted desperately to know what she had forgotten, and yet she also didn't want to know. She felt like it was cheating. The span of two year's adventuring in her one book. All those islands, all those people… she had forgotten it all, if Marco was right about her amnesia. But if she read it, she felt like she would be cheating herself. Like she was taking some shortcut in her adventures. Technically she had already gone through it all, but at the moment she knew nothing.

At the moment she was still the Loriana Gale of two years ago. The fresh face traveler that made her way into the Grand Line. The totally normal adventurer on a quest for discovery. It was like a second chance… to what?

Lori didn't know. To redo her adventures? She supposed it was so.

Somewhere in the world, she imagined Fate was laughing her ass off and fist bumping Lady Luck.

She swallowed hard. Just a peek. Satisfying her curiosity was an indulgence for her. Briefly she remembered a certain saying she held true to herself.

_Curiosity killed the cat. _

Lori smiled grimly and swallowed hard.

_Aye, but Satisfaction brought it back._

She slowly reached for the journal and flipped it open to the last sheet of paper with her messy printing- slash- handwriting scrawls.

Her finger traced down the long passage, her eyes following, until it froze on the last sentence.

The book slipped from her hands and fell face up on the bed.

A strong breeze from the window made the pages flutter wildly. The draft of wind calmed and the pages settled, stopping so the book was opened to the last page. The pitch-black scrawl of words at the bottom of the passage stared up at the frozen eyed girl – the sentence, imprinted in the reflection of her wide eyes and replaying over and over in her mind.

_I did it, I found One Piece._

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><p><strong>Well what do you think? Curious? ;3<strong>

**I'd really like to hear more reviews pretty please with a cherry on top. 'Specially the ones that help me improve my writing, after all this is my first fanfic story. It might just prompt me to update faster and more frequently... just saying. Teehee~**

**I eat reviews. So gimme. Nomnomnomnomnomnom- crunch!**


	6. Chapter 6: Now What?

**_Of course. _After finals and everything, what do my teachers do to me? Spring a freaking Chemistry test on me, on things I know nothing about. Yep. Figures.**

**Well here it is, Chapter Six! Thank you for the reviews again. Let's hope those demons we call teachers don't spring any more tests on me so I can continue updating. **

**Blah blah blah **

**Disclaimer: One piece ain't mine. There.**

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><p><em>Journal Log Entry # 101<em>

_No. Yes! No. Wait- Yes! Argghh. _

_Curse these deplorable currents. If it weren't for these damned waters, I'd be at the first island by now. That old man was right, the currents were a bit unpredictable in the Grand Line. I could very much be screwed right now, if I didn't have my log post. Hah, I'll show that old man… My boat is very capable of sailing me all the way to One Piece! After all, it did get me here from South Blue. _

_Isn't that right my precious, beautiful, lovely boat. Oh yes you are- yes you are! You cute little thing. _

…_Okay maybe this is a little weird, I'll stop crooning to my boat now._

_Well, there's nothing for me to do but make sure my dear boat is on the right track. That, and write in this journal. Ahhh…nothing to do, there's nothing to doooo~ I think I'll take a nap… no, nevermind. These currents could turn wicked real fast. _

_Luckily the island isn't that far away. I can't wait to see what the people of the Grand Line are like compared to South Blue. The islands must be much more cooler. There's so much I want to do…but I think I'll head to a bar first. Food and alcohol sounds good. Oops, better wipe that drool. Oh-_

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><p>-shit! Crap. Poop on a stick.<p>

Lori was racing through the trees with the wind on her back. The dark forest was still, yet alive with tiny noises she hoped were only crickets. The crunch of her shoes on the earthy ground and the sound of her labored breathing reached her ears. She couldn't see much, only barely dodging trees and jumping over logs when she was a foot away from them. Above her, the leafy canopy of the trees kept the ray of moonlight at a minimum. She could see glimpses of the starry night sky. Even so far inland, she could smell the salty ocean. If she strained herself, she could even hear the crashing waves.

Lori pressed her lips into a grim line. She didn't know what she was doing, only that she was running away. The forest was her escape. Mentally she laughed. She was good at it. She was good at escaping.

Yes, she was escaping. Escaping from revelations and the too real reality. What else could she do? Accept everything? Accept that she couldn't remember anything of the past two years? Accept that she found THE One Piece? Accept that she was supposedly a Whitebeard pirate? Based on all the facts surrounding her, it was safe to conclude.

Lori could hear herself laugh. She slowly ground to a halt, stopping at an odd clearing lit by the pale moonlight. The sinister trees echoed back her sullen laughter.

"What am I supposed to do now?" She asked the silent forest surrounding her.

She stood alone in the center of the clearing and stared blankly at the trees. She looked up at the crescent moon. "What am I supposed to do now?" she yelled angrily at the sky and fell to her knees on the damp grass, breathing harshly.

She stared at her dim shadow on the soft floor. Now that she's found One Piece… now that her journey was over, what would she do now?. It felt too quick. Her journey had ended too fast. She didn't want it to. The whole purpose of her journey was to be impossible. It was supposed to take a lifetime. Finding One Piece was supposed to be impossible for her, she'd be searching forever and would never be able to find it. That was why One Piece was her goal.

_You could go back home, back to _them_._

Lori shut her eyes firmly. _Stop it._

_Go back to _them_._

She shook her head._ Never. _

_That's all you can do now._

Loriana stared at the ground quietly._ Not yet. Not yet. Leave me alone._

_Then where will you go? There's only home._

Lori stood shakily. _That place was never home. _She wiped her tears. _I don't have to listen to you._

_Eventually, you will._

Lori gripped her wrist tightly, covering the silver wristband she had been trying to ignore for the past few days_. I can do whatever I want. I don't have to listen to you. You're not me._

She left the clearing and walked back to town, leaving the shadow behind.

Lori blinked her bleary eyes open. The sun was shining through the open window, and she could hear birds chirping their little beaks off. She could smell breakfast being made below.

Mhmm…Bacon and eggs.

She was feeling cold too, and no wonder because she hadn't slept under the covers last night.

Lori rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Last night… She sighed. This was getting crazy. Every time she thought about a 'last night' she could only think of 'What'd I do to get myself into this time?' Lori glanced at her white journal beside her pillow. The single sentence was still imprinted in her mind.

-_I found One Piece._

Perhaps she should have been more shocked, which she was, but somehow she didn't feel like blowing a gasket. Then again… HOLY UGLY MOTHER OF SEA KINGS!

She screamed into a pillow to muffle the noise for at least five minutes. Then she started to roll around on her bed with her knees held against her chest.

Fuuuuu-

And she thought her having amnesia was the most shocking thing she knew yesterday. Boy was she wrong. Or maybe she was dreaming, hopefully it was all just a bad dream.

Lori stopped rolling and laid flat on her back to stare blankly at the ceiling.

The plaster is kind of peeling…and there's a spider spinning a cobweb, I think it actually spells something…_'TERRIFIC?'_

_No, don't die on me now brain. I still need you to get me out of this mess. _

Lori sat up unexpectedly, determination in her eyes.

_As if I'd lose to some amnesia and strange plot points!_

Right. First things first! Reality check.

Lori pinched her cheeks, ouch. Darn it, she had hoped it was all a dream. She quickly checked her journal again, making sure to only read the last line of her last journal entry-she didn't want to accidentally read the rest of the passage.

She started to breath rapidly again. It was still there, black ink and all.

Okay. Secondly, realize the situation.

She forced herself to picture the words in her mind.

_I have amnesia. I have forgotten two years of my journey. I may or may not be a Whitebeard pirate. According to my journal, I have found One Piece. THE ONE PIEC- oh dear Roger. And lastly, I have the means of knowing everything that happened in those two years I have forgotten, as well as knowing the location of One Piece. Fuuu-_

The real question was: Did she want to know everything?

Surprisingly, the answer came to her in a mere second.

No.

No she did not want to know. She did not want to read her journal to know all about the adventures she had forgotten. And lastly, no, she was not going back to the Whitebeard Pirates. She may have joined their crew, as was evident when she woke up on their ship, somehow or another in her adventures, but she had already decided.

There was no need for her to seek them out, yet. She had now decided what she wanted to do, which was number three on her list.

Plan of action.

She breathed in and out. Right.

Simple. She'd go back. She'd go all the way back to the beginning of the Grand Line, and work her way through the islands to reach the New World and eventually, to One Piece, again. Yep. She was going to find the treasure herself, and she'd travel for as however long as it'd take her. She was going to do her journey over again, and she was going to regain her memories the good ol' fashioned way- _without_ reading her journal, and experiencing firsthand her adventures and discoveries..

Lori nodded. Sounds legit.

Her light brown eyes clear once again. True, she still felt like this was all a dream- a wacky, insane dream- but she was starting to get excited again. She could easily see her goals. It was time to kick some buttocks.

But first- Lori took a whiff of the air- breakfast. Because a good adventure starts with a hearty breakfast! Lori rushed out her room and down the stairs before plopping in front of the bar.

"Morning Jeff! Bacon and eggs? Gimme."

Jeff was cleaning a mug at the counter. He looked up at the jittery brunette in front of him and raised an eyebrow. She sure seemed hyper this morning, a stark contrast to her sudden reappearance last night. After rushing out of the bar, she back came in with a dull and cold look on her face as she walked silently up the stairs back to her room after a few hours. He had brushed it off last night as tiredness from a day shopping. He nodded, sympathetic to her behavior. Shopping was a horrible chore.

Her hair was a little messy looking today, (was that a twig?) but she looked a lot cleaner than before, less mud than when he first saw her. He could see that she bought new clothes, though they weren't something eye catching. But he could see the sparkle in her eyes, like bright russet jewels. It seemed to make her shine and he could see now that she wasn't some local, no- how could he have mistaken her for one? It was obvious that she didn't belong on a boring island following a boring routine throughout her life. He could easily imagine her trudging through a jungle with bright eyes and a dirty face, or sailing large ships and conversing with foreign people, or barely escaping a large stampede of angry animals with a huge grin on her face.

He smiled, it was good to be young and off on a voyage.

"Sure thing." He left and came back with plates of bacon and eggs piled high, delight filling Lori's eyes. He knew by now how much she could eat. He watched in fascination and -unsurprisingly- disgust, as the young female in front of him chowed on the food. He sighed and shook his head. Young people these days. Too much energy.

A piece of egg landed on his forehead and his vein popped. He wiped the egg off his head, with disgust, before a piece of bacon landed on his cheek. He frowned, and raised his fist and abruptly swung it on Lori's unsuspecting head.

_Whack!_

"Ow! What gives?" Lori pouted and absently rubbed her head. There goes her brain cells. She began to consider collecting bruises on her head- like battle scars.

Jeff growled. "Watch how you're chewing brat. I don't want you making a mess of my bar."

"Oh, heh- sorry. But your food is just too good!" She went back to eating, battle scars would be too eye catching she decided.

Jeff blinked in surprise at her reply, and relaxed his expression. He just couldn't stay mad at the girl. He shook his head and sighed.

Lori forked the last of the bacon and stuffed it into her mouth and smiled a satisfied, and full smile. She grinned at the older man busy clearing away the dishes. "You know any ships headed toward the Capes?"

Jeff thought for a moment. "There's one ship, but it's going to leave in an hour or two. You planning on heading there?"

"Yep. Gotta restart my journey somewhere."

He nodded. "It's the big merchant ship with a blue flag. Just tell 'em you know me and they'll let you hitch a ride."

"Thanks Jeff! You've been great." She smiled in gratitude. "I'll come through this island again when I head towards the New World ."

Jeff grunted in acknowledgement, and sniffed. "Well, you get going then. Don't wanna miss your boat ride."

Lori gave a two fingered salute and headed back up the stairs to take a quick shower and pack her things.

Stepping out of the shower, she hastily dried herself with a towel and made sure to comb her hair neatly. Running her towel over her skin, she had a hard time reaching her back. There was a spot that still had water droplets. She tried to reach for it but was still having a hard time. She turned around so she could get a good look at her back using the mirror.

She froze in her movements.

On her lower left side of her back, just above the curve of her butt, on her waist specifically, was a palm-sized blue and white tattoo- a Whitebeard tattoo. Lori stiffly set her towel down and gingerly touched the tattoo, her fingers tracing the outline. It was just like the tattoo on Ace's back, the mustachioed skull and bones. There was no mistaking it.

It was true then. There was no doubt about it. She wasn't a normal civilian on a normal adventure. She wasn't a small nobody girl any longer- as much as she wanted to be.

She was a pirate, a Whitebeard pirate.

Somehow, the tattoo on her lower left back made all her revelations more real. She had been… slightly doubtful, even after her determination before breakfast, and even after her little escape last night, but now she knew that _this_ was real.

This was real. This was all real.

She swallowed, and looked into the mirror with a penetrating gaze.

You're a pirate. Loriana Gale. What were you thinking these past two years?

What have you done?

After changing into her new and understated clothes, Lori flung all her stuff back into her knapsack, strapped the blue and white board on the back of her bag- which she had now deemed as something important even though she still had no idea what it was for- and got rid of her dirty clothes.

She pulled on her combat boots- just the thing to make her feel like she was getting down to business- and moved towards the open window to stare out at the vast blue sea. The wind against her face felt nice. Lori stared at the blue horizon of the Grand Line. She felt just like she did when she left her little island in South Blue, two years ago. She was seventeen now- no, actually- she was nineteen now. That's right. She was nineteen years old, even if she didn't remember it. It felt strange to be nineteen, but still think like she was seventeen. Hey- she could actually drink legally. That was another revelation for her. Too bad though, she enjoyed breaking the law. Maybe she _was_ perfect for being a pirate.

She shook herself out of her thoughts, and turned around to go downstairs with her bag slung over her shoulders, and the pink cowboy hat resting over it.

This was a new beginning! Sure, things have changed now, but what did it matter if she had suddenly discovered herself to be nineteen years old? Besides, time was a human invention. She could be ninety for all she cared. Bah!

Lori slowly grinned. She imagined herself as a quivering, cute old granny shaking her fist at hooligans and calling them whippersnappers.

'Why, when I was your age…'

Well, if old Whitebeard could do it, she could too.

Lori skipped down the stairs and stopped in front of the bar to set down her keys.

"Here's the key."

He looked at her and gave a small smile. "You come back now Lori."

She gave him a huge goofy grin and ran out the tavern, waving and yelling. "See you later Jeff!"

Jeff snorted. "Kids these days. Too much energy." He decided the next time she came around, he'd whip her up some steak free of charge.

Lori ran down the market all the way to the shipyard without stopping once. She wanted to get her journey started right away. Spotting the trade ship with a blue flag, she walked up the wooden ramp and onto the boat. She tapped a gruff looking man yelling orders for 'Anchors Aweigh!' on the shoulder.

He turned around and immediately gave her a frown. "Whatcha want girlie? I ain't got no time for lassies."

"I hear from Jeff that you're headed towards the Twin Capes. Could I hitch a ride with you sir? And my boat too?"

He sighed and gave her a pointed look. "That Jeff… All right, we'll give you and your boat a ride. But don't expect it to be free. You'll be doing work on this ship. If you slack off at all, we'll be throwing you overboard ye'hear?"

Lori nodded. "Aye aye, gramps!"

"Don't ever call me that again."

"Aye aye, Capt'n!"

"Lassie…" He began, "you're on swabbin' duty."

"Damn it." She pouted. Well, it could have been worse. She might have started her journey on poop deck. "Yessir…" She dejectedly started swabbing the decks with a soggy mop another sailor handed her. A moment later the merchant ship, with Lori's boat stowed with the emergency dingys, began sailing away towards the Twin Capes.

A few hours later, Ace landed on the ports of Marigold Island.

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><p><strong>Wheeeeeeee, <em>slam<em>. Oops, I bumped into a wall. Teehee. REVIEW! Gimme! dlajdslfja;flf**

**So what kind of girl is Loriana Gale really? I'd say she's a pretty normal happy-go-lucky girl, on the surface. What do you think?**

**So who caught my references? Just random things I do for fun. Haha~**


	7. Chapter 7: Braainnnns

**Oh bother, the website has been giving me some trouble with logins and whatnots. I'm sorry for the delayed chapter. But here you go my lovelies~ Chapter 7!**

**I do believe there will be Journal Entries from now on. Pay attention to the numbering, they may not always be in the same order. This story is somewhat of a trial run for me you could say, an experiment. For what you ask? Well, nothing you readers really have to know… :3**

**So Lori…and One Piece? Shocking really. I wouldn't trust her though, she DOES have amnesia, and she's paranoid. I wouldn't trust paranoid people, not that I'm being paranoid. Hmm..**

**Disclaimer: One Piece...not mine..braaainnns. Yum.**

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><p><em>Journal Entry #201<em>

_Dear Blank,_

_Can I call you that sweetie? Well of course I can, you're my journal after all! Haha, get it? Blank… 'cause your pages are blank at first? …cricket, cricket… err ookay._

_I am currently on the Mary Jane (a merchant ship headed towards the Twin Capes) in hiding. Capt'n Geezer here has reassigned me to poop deck, which is totally uncalled for since all I did was dye his socks pink, and so I am ditching work. But have no fear Blank, no need to worry over me you sweetie pie you, there is an upside to this! Since poop deck was the worse duty on deck and I've already been assigned that glorious job, I can unleash all my, say, more lovely… pranks of mine without retribution. _

_Hehehe. Actually I guess the geezer could throw me overboard, but he hasn't done so yet (even after I so meticulously swapped the contents of his canister of alcohol with milk –he should really be watching out for his health, and I'm doing him a favor of getting rid of his rum by drinking it myself) so therefore I suspect he is actually a real softie on the inside that couldn't abandon little ol' me. The poor chap, I do hope this ship sails faster to our destination before he realizes the mistake he's made be giving me a ride. I'll try my best to ease up on him, but the boredom is really getting to me. So here I am, turning to you my beloved journal for a way of expelling energy._

_I suppose it's only natural for me to continue writing, even after all that uh you know –amnesia business. This is a new adventure, so I need to record things like I always have with great detail and what not. Lets see… I should start from the beginning._

…_I woke up on the Whitebeard pirate ship in a clinic, this jerkwad called Ace kissed me (still angry by the way, note to self: revenge), I kicked his ass and stuffed him into a closet, two Whitebeard commanders walked in and started talking about me having amnesia (which I now realize is true it seems, unfortunately), they left, I courageously escaped the Moby Dick on my lovely boat (and I still can't remember how it is I came by those pirates), there was a freak storm, found my way to Marigold Island (note to self: further exploration on that island later), and now I'm headed back to the beginning of my adventures two years ago. There. _

_That was an extremely condensed version of my most recent life changing events, but I swear I'll be more detailed when my journey actually starts, possibly. Hey, my hand starts cramping, legitimate excuse for laziness- arthritis is a deadly disease!_

_It's already been a couple of days now since I left Marigold Island, and I'm starting to wonder if my memories will ever come back. Not that I mind. It's sort of refreshing, I guess. But there are a couple of doubts that I have, particularly with that last line that I will not write out here because I just can't. I won't. I'd rather forget it all and pretend it never happened, which I guess _is_ what I'm doing and hey, I actually _did _forget. From here on out, I'll call those two years of forgotten memories: Negated Times. Cool right? _

_Oops, I better get going. The grumpy gramps is hollering for me, I better change hiding locations. Judging by the unrestrained anger in his voice- he probably found out that I dyed his undies pink this time. Weelll that's what he gets for putting me on poop deck._

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><p>"Whew!" Ace exclaimed, setting his feet solidly on the harbor. He looked around at his surroundings. There were several sailors milling around on break for it was lunch time it seemed. He wondered whether or not Lori was on this island and was about to ask one of the sailors when he spotted the marine flag in the corner of his eyes. He turned and sure enough, there was the marine ship, with the seagull flag hanging from the mast.<p>

He didn't want any trouble so early in his search. Ace considered leaving the island, but shook his head. There was a chance Lori may be on the island. This was one of the closest islands to the storm.

He proceeded to call out to the sailors, the marines weren't in sight after all. He made note to keep an eye out for the white shirts.

"Hey! Have you men seen a brunette with light brown eyes, this high" he used his hand to indicate her height, raising it to his shoulders, "And maybe a little average looking?"

The men sitting on wooden crates only looked at each other and shook their heads. "That could be anyone you're looking for, hell, I have a wife that's exactly that description!" The men laughed.

A man said, "You practically insulted yer wife there Lenny. What would she say if she heard you?"

The other man only chuckled. "Aw ain't no harm, I love her, I do."

Ace sighed. This was going to be tough. For a moment he wished Lori was a bit more eye catching, it would have certainly helped him a lot this time around. Though he was also glad she wasn't. At least no guy would take a second glance at her. Marines included.

He turned from the men after thanking them politely and began walking to the market he could see ahead, cautious about his surroundings. The people around him seemed to eye him, and whispered to each other. They could easily see the tattoo on his back. Ace walked on, unaffected. There was no doubt word would reach the marines soon, he had to either find information fast, or give up on this island.

If he wanted to get any closer to finding Lori, he had to think like Lori. Which would be difficult, seeing how he had no idea what went through her brain most of the time and he wondered whether Lori _thought_ at all.

What would Lori do if she was on this island? He cursed under his breath, this was going to be difficult.

Ace stopped in his tracks, his nose on high alert. Hey, that smells like steak! Ace's stomach grumbled loudly. He could do for some food.

Ace followed his nose towards the delicious smell, weaving through the market and crowds, and ended up in front of a shanty looking tavern. It was painted a dull looking blue, the paint peeling off in some parts. The windows were dusty looking, and he could see that it was dimly lit inside. Above the entrance was a huge wooden sign with curly dark words that said _'Got Rum?_'

From afar it'd look kind of decent, Ace thought briefly. Interesting choice of name.

Ace walked into the empty tavern.

The door chimed, signaling a customer. Jeff looked up from his mug cleaning to see a very conspicuous looking person. The young man looked very able bodied and strong. He didn't have a single piece of clothing on his upper half of the body- though he did have a necklace of large red beads and a tattoo on his arm that spelled ASCE with the S crossed out. The young man also wore a bright orange hat with strange pins on top his head, a solemn look on his face. There was a glimmer in his eye that the bartender didn't like though.

If Jeff could describe the boy in one word, it would be troublemaker.

He set his rag and mug down on the bar. From beneath the counter, his hands wrapped around a rifle, ready to be used in any case of emergency. Jeff didn't take well to hooligans, not in his bar. His eyes followed the pirate suspiciously.

The young pirate strode forward to sit directly in front of Jeff, no sign of intimidation on his face.

"You got steak here mister?" Ace asked politely without hesitation. His coal black eyes staring up at the stiff bartender.

"Yeah, I serve steak here kid." He answered slowly, "What's it to yah?"

Suddenly Ace grinned widely, and Jeff blinked in surprise.

"What do you mean 'What's it to yah?' Hit me up with a couple of them!" Ace rested his arms on the counter and sat back with ease. "And some water too please!"

Jeff sighed quietly with relief and set his rifle back down. "Coming right up." Satisfied the young man wasn't going to cause him any trouble, he served the boy a plate of sizzling steak and rice.

Ace looked at the single plate with something akin to disbelief. "That's it? Keep it coming mister." Ace set to the plate with a fork and knife in both hands, gulping the meat down easily and swallowing the water with cheeks filled.

A moment later, the dishes were piled highly and in danger of tilting over. Bowls of rice were stacked to the side, and Jeff was having a difficult time keeping up with the pirate.

"Phmore!"

Jeff couldn't believe his ears. "Are you serious kid? You've already eaten over twenty dishes!"

"More!"

Jeff shook his head, feeling a wave of déjà vu. "Jeez kid, you're like the customer I had yesterday." He beat Lori by a mile. He turned to get more steak when…

_Slam!_

Jeff whirled around to stare at the boy's head submerged in his plate of food, his hands still clenched around a fork and knife.

Jeff felt his jaw drop. He was beyond horrified.

Did he just die- in his bar? Jeff stared at the young man with an appalled face feeling dread pooling in his stomach. It wasn't his fault, or his foods' either. He didn't poison the man! Oh Roger, what would his great grandfather say if he heard of a person dying in his bar? The damn geezer would be rolling around in his grave. What would his father say? The reputation of _'Got Rum?' _would be ruined! And oh- how he hated that name, if he had a beri for all the times he got horribly lame jokes because of that name… But that wasn't the point right now, there was a dead boy in his bar. He had to think fast. There were marines on this island. He would be locked up in jail if they found this out, and nobody would run the bar. They would think HE killed the youth.

Jeff gulped, something he never would have done in his life- if it weren't for this situation he was in. He had to hide the body. But where? The cellar! He'd hide the body there!

Jeff nodded, yes that would do. He thanked the Four Blues that his bar was empty at the moment, no witnesses. He was beginning to think like a criminal.

Just as he was about to start moving the body, he heard a soft shift. He froze, and looked on at the young man in front of him with horror. His jaw dropped.

_A-A zombie!_

Ace pulled his face off of his plate of food and blinked. His eyes were bleary and pieces of rice and steak stuck to his forehead and cheeks. The man in front of him stared at him with bulging eyes. His jaw opening and closing.

"Ah. I fell asleep."

Ace continued to dig into his food as if nothing ever happened, while Jeff slumped onto the floor in incredulity, and a feeling of detached relief. Outside, the crows were cawing 'Ahoo ahooo!~"

_He was sleeping_!

Jeff didn't know whether to laugh or burst into tears. He was so close to- to hiding the evidence, though there was no crime to begin with. He briefly realized what he would do if something did happen. He would've turned criminal, for a crime he didn't commit. Roger…

Jeff shook himself out of it and got himself off the floor. He needed a drink. He poured himself some very strong rum and pulled out a seat for himself.

Ace belched loudly and rubbed his stomach with a satisfied smile on his face.

"Whew! That was some good steak, uhh-" Jeff stiffly interjected with his name.

"Jeff."

He grinned. "The name's Ace. What was that you were saying before?" Ace watched the man take a long swig of rum and sigh deeply.

"I said you reminded me of a girl I met yesterday."

Ace stared at the man with interest. "Really?"

He nodded. "She ate a lot too." It seemed like his mind was far away at the moment. "Said it weren't much though, knew someone that could eat more than her."

Ace strummed his fingers on the counter. "What else did this person say?"

Jeff suddenly looked at him, narrowing his eyes. "What's it to yah?" The bartender stood and began clearing the dirty plates away automatically, then refilled Ace's cup of water.

Ace shrugged. "Sounds like an interesting person." He looked away and pretended to stare around the tavern with curiosity. He whistled a low tune.

Jeff wasn't fooled. "Who are you?" He reached for his rifle again with his wary eyes on the black haired youth. His hands clenched around the rifle under the counter. Ace tilted his head back to look at the old man, his coal black eyes noticing the strain on the bartender's arms.

He raised his hands up in the air lazily. "I'm not looking for trouble here sir. Just looking for somebody. A girl, to be specific."

Jeff grunted. "And what makes you think I know anything?"

Ace looked perplexed. "What makes you think _I_ think you know anything?"

Jeff blinked.

The pirate sighed. "I'm just looking for my friend, she's gone missing and I don't know where to find her. This just seems like a place she would go."

Jeff raised an eyebrow, and resettled his gun. He got back to wiping mugs.

"Well, I didn't see a girl that would look like she knows you. If that helps."

Ace slumped. So Lori didn't come here. The island was a bust then, and he had risked the marines for nothing. He was sure that Lori would have come here if she was on the island. Ace decided he better leave quickly if he wanted to avoid trouble. He made to leave when he suddenly paused.

_A girl that _would look _like she knows him? How bout a girl that _wouldn't look _like she'd know him…_

"This girl you said you saw yesterday… she wouldn't happen to have brown hair and eyes right?"

Jeff looked up at him. "Actually, yeah she did."

Ace sat back at the counter slowly. "And she didn't happen to look a little on the average side…?"

Jeff narrowed his eyes "A little."

Ace's eyes widened and he leaned forward excitedly. "And she wouldn't happen to have a stupid expression on her face?"

"Huh?"

"Er- I mean, was she wearing a leather knapsack? A little dirty perhaps? Weatherworn maybe?"

The bartender set his mug down. "Where are you getting at kid?"

Ace took a deep breath and let it out. He looked Jeff straight in the eye and asked "This girl…is her name Loriana Gale?"

Jeff stiffened for a second, but relaxed instantly. "Didn't catch her name" he replied easily and set back to cleaning the dishes, though with stiff arms. It was partly true, she had only given her a nickname he now realized. Loriana, Lori, it had to be her. And his descriptions were right on target, even the stupid expression part.

Ace scrutinized Jeff. "I don't believe you. Where did she go?"

Jeff stopped and turned back to Ace. "How do I know you aren't some miscreant that's going to harm Lori?"

So she did come here. Ace jumped to his feet eagerly. "Please, tell me where she went! Is she on the island?" He had a feeling that threats wouldn't work on this guy. Thinking quickly he said "I'm that guy she said she knew that could eat a lot."

Jeff only scoffed. "And?" It didn't mean anything to him.

The pirate sighed impatiently. "Seriously old man? What more can I say to prove it to you? Give me another twenty plates of steak."

Jeff stared with at the pirate with disbelief. The boy was going to clean him out of food, and he still hadn't gone to restock from Lori's gorging yesterday. He'd have to go buy more supplies…. He'd have to go shopping! The bartender shuddered with revulsion at the idea and paled considerably.

_Sorry Lori, even I won't go that far for you_, Jeff thought regretfully and grudgingly said to the eager faced kid in front of him, "She's not here anymore. Said she left for the Twin Capes."

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><p><strong>Ahh poor Ace, he just missed her! Well who said it was going to be that easy?<strong>

**I believe I may be going too fast with the plot, I'm getting impatient to get further along the story. ]: Oh well, patience is a virtue. Must...resist...temptation!**

**Thank you for the reviews dears! But don't hesitate to add another, otherwise how will I know which direction I should be going in this story? Like I said, I'm mostly winging this, even with a few ideas in mind. Who knows? Maybe I'll put your suggestions in the story… :] No guarantees however. Lalalalalalala ~ I'm not full yeeettt!**

*Just so you guys know, poop deck isn't really what it sounds like it is. Haha, I just like the words.


	8. Chapter 8: I Didn't Do It, I Swear!

**Err- I have no excuse for my late update. I was being lazy. Sorry. ]:**

**Actually, to tell you the truth I did have some important deadlines to meet and a bunch of tests to take again. But well, that's the life of a student. Mehh.**

**Also, I have been doing a lot of soul-searching lately and I have come to a sudden conclusion: **

**Writer's are sadists. **

**Yep. There you go. The important revelation of the day! Hohohoho~**

**This is for you my lovely reviewers! You make my day. **

**Disclaimer: One Piece is the property of Oda.**

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><p>Journal Entry #202<p>

_Dear Blank, _

_The damn geezer caught me. _

_He found my hiding spot under the stairs and he's also enlisted the crew's help in ratting me out, the traitors. You can't trust a single person on this ship. My faith in others has been slashed to pieces and stepped on by a monstrous dragon! _

_Well, nothing new really. The lot of them traitors should just be eaten by Sea Kings. Note to self: Trust no one! _

_P.S: Beware of old ladies. In fact, just avoid them as much as possible. Those grannies are annoying, gossiping, old croons._

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><p>Hmph! Lori glowered at the mop in her hand, then towards the dirty and stained floor of the stern. She turned to pout at the self-satisfied look on the gramp's face, who stood in front of her at the wheel with a watchful eye.<p>

She sighed and said, "I don't know why you assigned me to poop deck old man." She reasoned with a sour face. It wasn't her fault she was bored. In fact, it was the geezer's fault for making it so easy for her. That's right. He practically paved the way for her pranks.

"I didn't do it, I swear."

She put on her most winning smile as if it could make him understand 'I'm a good girl, really!'

Gramps gave her a look that seemed to say 'Bull crap.'

It was a lie and they both knew it. Who else would dare challenge the Mary Jane's captain? Not the crew for certain, and who else could find pink dye? The men on the ship would never be caught with the vile bottles.

"Don't bother with your lies lass. Get to swabbin'. After you're done, you get down to the kitchen and start peelin' those potatoes." He snorted roughly and spat on the deck.

Lori glared at the newly added stain, one more thing for her to clean up.

"I'd say we'll reach the Red Line in a couple weeks." The captain turned and yelled to a sailor, "Yorkin, you watch this lass here and make sure she's working!" He left to yell more orders to the crew.

Lori cursed, and began to mop the deck. Weeks of poop deck, potato peeling, and night shift on the watch. She was wrong. Although poop deck was indeed the worst job (being so boring and mindless), her punishments didn't end there. The captain, just gave her more work to do for her pranks. He wasn't an old softie at all!

Yep, just pile it on me you cranky geezer. I'll get you back for this, she promised in between moppings. I'm decorating your cabin with glitter next_._

She muttered obscenities and future wicked plans under her breath while attacking the floor with a vengeance. Lori stopped her vicious attack of the deck and glared up at the young sailor in charge of her mopping. "It's your fault he caught me in the first place," She accused. She was feeling the need to blame somebody out there all right. Unfortunately for the sailor, he happened to be in her line of view.

The young sailor flinched under her withering glare. "If I hadn't, I would've been given your duty instead." He said to defend himself.

Lori only grumbled in response. "Lousy sailors, traitors the lot of 'em…and curse those pirates… and these stains!" She channeled all her feelings of injustice towards the wooden floor while the poor sailor in charge backed up a few paces.

"If it makes you feel better, I saved the newspaper for you." He produced the daily newspaper and gave it to a grumpy Lori. She snatched the newspaper from him, and before reading she gave him a 'I can do a million things to make you cry' look. Then she started reading the paper. The sailor only held his hands up in defense and backed off, finding it necessary to make himself scarce.

Loriana scanned the headlines, having the need to update herself on the world's events. If she wanted to take this journey, she needed to be updated on the latest events in order to know what to watch out for since she had no idea what was going on in the world at the moment. Safety was her first priority after all, plus there was always something interesting going on out there. It distracted her from the boredom on the ship. She easily forgot about her chores and leaned against the railings with newspaper in hand.

_Mhmm, Punk Hazard…now deemed dangerous…closed down…_

Isn't that island in the New World? She thought, looking at a picture of a barren wasteland, before turning the page.

Lori irritably tied her brown hair back into a ponytail, to prevent the strands from whipping across her face because of the winds, and kept a firm grip while turning the pages.

…_gruesome raids by rookie pirate in South Blue…hmm…traitor marine turned pirate…_

Lori flipped the page. It seemed traitors was the theme of the day. She read the articles with interest and cocked her head while scanning the title of another.

_Whitebeard pirate sighted on Marigold Island._

Oh horse dung.

Her eyes widened in shock and she quickly scanned the deck before turning her focus back on the paper, the cogs in her mind turning.

As much as she wished it was a lie, she was a Whitebeard pirate; and unfortunately she had also been on Marigold Island. It had to be her. Yet, how did they know? Did someone recognize her as a Whitebeard pirate? Her tattoo wasn't visible so no one should have been able to tell. How were they able to distinguish her from the crowd?

Briefly she cursed her stupid self for becoming a Whitebeard pirate in the first place. What if there was a wanted poster of her? She hadn't thought about that before when she realized she was actually a pirate. What if her face was printed everywhere for all to see- for _them_ to see? She wouldn't be able to blend in so easily anymore if her face was suddenly famous, and it made it easier for people to find her.

Lori shook her head to clear her thoughts and focused on the article, only to blink in surprise when she turned the page to read more.

…_Recent sightings were reported by Marigold locals. The pirate was identified as Fire Fist Ace, Second Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. Several civilians reported that they saw the pirate walking through the market, and later, fleeing from marine ambush. He left a wake of flames as he took off from the island. Several marines received burns, but no further casualties were reported on the island. Days later, it was reported that Fire Fist Ace destroyed several marine ships in pursuit of him…_

A picture of said pirate was inserted after the article. He was surrounded by flames and marines, who were burned by getting too close to the grinning pirate. She could see that the marines had tried to ambush him in the market place she had been shopping at a week ago. Another picture showed a squadron of destroyed ships and marines jumping overboard.

Huh. So it wasn't her.

Lori breathed out a sigh of relief, thanking the Four Seas, then feeling silly for thinking it was her the newspaper was talking about. No one should have been able to recognize her anyways and she doubted that her non-amnesiac self in those two years was stupid enough to get a wanted poster.

Lori set her newspaper aside and got back to mopping, less irritated now, and feeling very relieved. Even the mention of that kissing thief didn't affect her. She started humming to herself while thinking about the world's current events.

Focusing on a particularly tough stain on the floor, she suddenly thought, 'Why was jerkwad on Marigold Island?'

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><p>Ace knew it wasn't going to be easy. He hadn't expected to just pop in on an island and suddenly expect to find information on Lori so quickly, much less to actually find the person. However, he got lucky. If he caught what that bartender said correctly- before he fell victim to a narcolepsy attack- he had said <em>'Jeez kid, you're like the customer I had yesterday.'<em>

Yesterday.

That meant Lori had just been on Marigold Island recently and had only just left. He would still be able to catch up to her if he headed straight for the Capes on his Striker – which was what he had definitely planned to do when he left the bar, until the marines ambushed him that is.

But it was a minor setback, and Ace decided this was something he had to do. Purely business.

Ace moved through the sea at a relatively fast pace on his one man boat. The sprays of ocean only mildly affecting him. He turned his head to see several marine ships following him from a distance. To his right a bomb splashed into the water, causing him to veer to the left, only to turn again to the right when another bomb nearly hit him. The cannons whistled through the air and landed with several smacks on the blue ocean waters.

They've been at it for a few days now. He had escaped Marigold easily, but then he happened to run into a bunch of marine ships who, thinking he was an easy target, started to launch an attack on him. There was no way he could continue to chase after Lori with marine ships in tow. So instead, Ace had strategically decided to go the opposite way of Lori and make them think he was headed towards the New World.

As if I'd knowingly get her in danger, Ace scoffed.

This should be far enough. He thought. Now to get rid of them.

Ace suddenly veered his boat around and headed straight for the squadron of marine ships. The ships continued to fire cannonballs at him but he easily dodged them as he got closer to the huge marine ships. The bombs only hit water. He could hear the marines shouting at him from afar saying something like "You're under arrest!" and "Halt! Pirate!"

Slightly smirking, the pirate jumped up to soar over the ships, sending his boat underwater, and sent a hail of flames on the marine ships below him. The ships instantly caught fire. Marines screamed in agony and began jumping overboard as the ships began to explode from the gunpowder catching fire.

Ace landed on his Striker just as it emerged from underneath the waters, leaving behind a wake of destroyed ships behind him without a drop of sweat. And without looking back, Ace headed straight for the Capes.

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><p>Lori sighed in boredom and expertly (to her dismay) skinned the potatoes with her red hilt dagger.<p>

"This isn't how I'm supposed to use my dagger mind you." She said to the cook. She tossed the skinned potato into a bucket and grabbed another.

"And yet you're doing so well with it." The cook replied easily, moving between pots of boiling water and cutting vegetables to toss into the pot.

Lori sighed again, skinning another potato and tossing it into the bucket. "Can't I do the riggings or something instead?" Anything but this, and swabbing. She thought petulantly.

"I'm not the captain. Stop complaining you brat. I heard what you did, dying the captain's socks and underwear pink." The old lady shook her head. "And your most recent - _where_ you got that glitter is beyond me…" The old woman stopped her chopping and turned to look at the girl. She shook her head at the youth's messy brown hair and wrinkled clothes. Her face was slightly smudged with dirt and glistened of salt from the ocean breeze. Pointing her knife carelessly at Lori, she said "Girly, you're what…sixteen? Shouldn't you care more about your looks?"

Lori looked at the knife wearily and replied "I'm sev-nineteen lady, and I don't give a rat's butt what I look like." She looked down at her wrinkled clothes and shrugged. It wasn't _that _dirty, and her hair was always messy anyways.

"Uh huh." The cook gave her a dubious look and turned back to her vegetables. "Don't you have some boyfriend you want to look good for?" A young girl like that, even as plain as she is, should _at least_ have someone in her life. Everybody should have a somebody. The old lady felt a familiar dissatisfaction, one that she felt whenever she heard her son was still without lady, at the age of forty.

Lori sputtered and nearly cut herself skinning potatoes. "D-don't be ridiculous lady… and leave my looks alone!" She huffed and started skinning potatoes furiously. As if she wanted a boyfriend! Besides, what were they good for?

Probably only getting in the way of my dreams, she thought with another huff.

An image of large, warm hands wrapped around her own, forced it's way into Lori's mind. A low whisper of sweet nothings, and that familiar musky scent… Lori shook herself out of it.

Where did that come from?

"Oh ho~" The lady turned from her choppings and stared at Lori with a shrewd look. "Is there a person you have in mind dear?"

Lori turned a deep red. She fumbled with her potato before replying "Of course not." She looked anywhere but the old woman's stare.

"Well you must, judging by your face." She roared with mirth. "Come dear. Tell granny all about it. Who is it, some young man right? Tall, dark and handsome perhaps? " She laughed raucously at Lori's expense.

Lori snapped. "Leave me alone you old coot! I ain't got nobody in mind!" She suddenly thought of a certain pirate with a dark smirk on his face and turned a shade redder.

The old woman cackled in delight at the girl's face. "Well if you say so. 'Tis a shame for such a young girl like you without a boy." Lori glowered, resigning herself to silence and started skinning potatoes, abate not as expertly as she was before. "How about I introduce you to someone I know? Sweet lad he is. Perfect for you." The lady mused. "How about Yorkin? I'd say that's a nice match."

Lori groaned. This was worse than swabbing duty. It was pure torture. She cursed the lady rambling on about other sailors and gossip she had heard.

Damn grannies and their love of matchmaking and gossip. They had too much time on their hands.

She wished she could crawl into a hole and hide, or at least find some duct tape.

"How 'bout it Lori? Shall I introduce you to Yorkin?"

Lori groaned in misery and decided swabbing was a much better job than potato peeling. She silently wished the ship would sail faster.

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><p><strong>And there you go, Lori discovers the terror of old ladies. It was an experience I felt needed to be shared haha.<strong>

**Not much of Ace in this chapter, and I don't believe there will be for a while. But who knows? Mostly Lori, this is an OC story after all.**

**BTW, changing genre to Adventure/Humor. Don't worry, there's still romance, but I feel there's more humor and crack. You can blame Lori.**

**I promise the next chapter will be updated soon, to make up for my laziness. ]: Toodle-oo~**


	9. Chapter 9: Hans the Wannabe Bandit

**Yep, as promised! Here's another chapter, just for you peeps. :D**

**Blah blah blah blah. One Piece not mine, 'tis Odas.**

**Here's another revelation of the day: I suck at math and chemistry.**

**Oh well, no point in dwelling in what's what. A life of writing it is.**

**As a reminder, I ain't got time for everything, so don't be surprised if I update irregularly.**

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><p><em>Journal Log Entry #102<em>

_I got to the island just fine and dandy. Urgghh, I feel sick. Excuse me- _

_Bleh, anyways. Where was I? Oh yeah, recording. Uhh, there was a whirlpool- just as I was writing earlier-, I survived, my lovely boat got me out safely, I reached the island, found a bar, blah blah. _

_Just as I walked into the bar, I met this weird man. He smiled way too much, and he was pretty cocky. Hmph, well I sure showed him. Challenged him to a drinking contest- hah, I won by the way. Only thirty glasses of milk and he gave up. Poor guy, probably lactose intolerant._

_He was kind of funny looking. He had some scars over one eye and had red hair. He would have looked a bit scary if it weren't for that infectious grin he had. Actually he looked really familiar, but I can't remember from where though… urgh, hangover._

_My head is killing me, and- Jeez, can't a girl get some privacy! Some person just walked into my restroom stall. Rude! I kicked him out though, must've been drunk. People these days… Can't he see that I'm busy alternating between writing and puking here? _

_Anyways, the guy wasn't too bad though, I had a great time partying and drinking (alcohol) with his crew. They sure were a friendly lot. I can't remember when I passed out, but when I woke up they had already left. The bartender told me they left a message for me. Something like 'See you in the New World. Let's party over there.' I couldn't stop smiling after that for a while, still am. The Grand Line sure is an exciting place! I can't wait to get to the next island. _

_The charmingly small island I'm on right now is called Banjo Island. I'm currently in town, waiting for my log pose to set. Apparently they specialize in the making of banjos. That would explain the island name of course. The folk here are very…uh folksy. Other than that all I can say is this is a fall island and pretty small. It appears that there are normally very few visitors here, that's why its so peaceful and carefree. However the townsfolk tell me that they often get interesting visitors when they do come. I wonder about that though, who would want to come out here for fun? Regardless, I'm glad I came here. The alcohol is pretty good, (though the hangovers suck)._

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><p>"Land Ho!" Captain Geezer called to his merchant crew of sailors. Everyone cheered, including a very ecstatic Loriana Gale, who tottered over to the railing in relief. She beamed at the small island in the distance and boy was she glad to see it. Weeks toiling on a ship had done a lot to the young adventurer. If it had been one day more of poop deck and overly enthusiastic grannies, just one more, well, she was sure she would have gone bananas and jumped ship.<p>

The island in the distance appeared to be a fall island. Lori could see a mass of red and orange, with traces of yellow and green covering the island. Other than the trees, she could see no signs of civilization. However that did not quell her excitement. Finally, land and the start of her adventure! She could hardly wait!

"Are you ready kids?" The captain called to his sailors, ordering them to make ready for the docking. Lori skipped about the ship helping them in any way she can.

"Aye aye Capt'n!" She called and loudly began singing to herself with an extreme knack for hitting all the wrong notes. "Who lives in a pineapple under the sea…~" The crew simply ignored her. They have gotten very skilled at ignoring the youth the first week of their voyage towards the Capes.

The autumn air was chillingly fresh and invigorated all the sailors. The only problem seemed to be that even with the sail up, the ship wasn't moving any faster. In fact, the wind was catching on the sails, but it made the ship slow down incredibly for it was blowing the complete opposite direction they were headed. Seagulls in the sky were having difficulty fighting against the winds as well.

"Pull the sails down!" The captain ordered. "Bring out the oars!" The men rushed to pull the sails down, and Lori helped bring out the oars. However, the currents were too strong for the sailors and they had much difficulty trying to row the Mary Jane towards the fall island.

"Urrgg- Cursed ocean! Just when I was almost there..!" Lori said between gritted teeth, working with the men to row the oars. My adventure! She thought with growing distress. There's no way I'm staying on this ship any longer!

"It's no use Captain! The currents are too strong." A sailor yelled.

"We may have to wait for the winds to calm!" Yorkin said also.

The captain seemed to agree.

Lori could have screamed of frustration. No! Stupid wind, blow the other way damn it! The other way! Argghh…

She tried to push the oars harder, but the men had already given up. Lori dropped the oars and covered her face with her hands.

And she was so close too! The island was simply a distance away. She should just jump ship and row her way there with her own boat. Why did things have to be so difficult for her? An aura of gloom passed over her figure and she started to mutter under her breath.

"Wait… Captain! Do you feel that?" Yorkin called. He stuck a finger in his mouth and pulled it out in a 'Eureka!' stance. However what he was actually doing was feeling the current of air with his finger.

The other sailors did the same. The breeze was slowing down. No, it stopped entirely! They looked at each other in confusion. The captain watched his sailors closely, he could feel the breeze stop also. He looked up at the sky. The seagulls were gliding easily in the air now.

He turned slightly and looked at the troublemaking brat, who seemed to be having a minor meltdown. Her hair was blowing slightly and she sighed heavily into her hands. The captain, however, did not notice how she was silently cursing providence and muttering obscenities to her eternal enemy Lady Luck. Instead, he noticed how her messy brown hair was moving slightly in the direction of the island.

He reached the conclusion as the other sailors did at the same moment.

The winds were picking up again!

"Raise the sails men. We've got a breeze," Captain Geezer ordered. The sailors all rushed around pulling the sail back up. This wasn't the Grand Line for nothing.

Lori felt a hurry of movement around her and she slowly raised her head to look around in confusion. What was everyone doing? Why were they putting the sails back up? What was the point? She stood awkwardly in the middle looking this way and that as the sailors hollered to each other pulling the ropes.

A sudden gush of powerful wind blew in the direction of the island, causing Lori's mess of hair to become even messier. The seagulls clumsily tumbled in the sky from the sudden gush of air.

Oh!

Her eyes grew wide in realization. The wind current changed! She laughed in amazement and shouted in joy.

I take back all I said Lady Luck! She thought giddily and rushed around to help the crew.

A short while later, the Mary Jane was easily gliding through the waters towards the island. It would only be a short ten minutes until they could dock.

Lori stood beside Captain Geezer, they both watched the island grow larger as they sailed closer.

"Thanks for the ride gramps!" She said happily, feeling a lot better after the winds picked up. "And sorry for all those pranks. I couldn't help it. I was bored you know." Plus you made things so easy for me. She beamed at old man who apparently wished she wasn't thanking him. How could he dislike her if she was thanking him after all? It was a good thing he couldn't read minds.

The captain snorted feelingly with a trace of awkwardness. "Well it'd be good riddance with you brat. I can't say these couple of weeks were boring with you around."

She laughed and turned to look at the island. It was a great deal bigger than she thought it was, but it was still a small island compared to Marigold. However the orange and red trees were quite a sight for her to behold. She felt like she'd seen it before, though she was sure she'd never seen a fall island like this before in South Blue. Could it have been the island she first landed on when she began her journey?

"Do you know what island this is gramps?" She asked curiously.

"It's called Banjo Island. Is this close enough to the Capes for you?"

"Yep, it's fine." Lori thought for a while. "I imagine the people here must specialize in making banjos," she said.

The captain looked at her quite impressed. "How did ya know lassie? That's what we came to pick up, a shipment of banjos."

Lori blinked in surprise. "Er, I guessed by the name." She scratched her head in wonder. Well no matter, she decided now was a good time to pack up her things and get ready for her adventure.

A moment later the Mary Jane was docked in the harbor and Lori was packed and ready to go with her stuff in her boat and a bag of food courtesy of that gossiping granny. Who by the way even as she said good bye insisted on Lori hooking up with Yorkin the sailor, to which Lori steadily replied "Fat chance old lady."

They lowered Loriana and her boat down into the waters, where she tied it to the harbor as well.

It wasn't a tearful goodbye between Lori and the crew of Mary Jane, in fact, it was filled with words like 'Now don't come back ya hear!' and 'You never told us how you got that glitter!' Of course, Lori being herself, merely laughed and said "If I ever need a ride again, I'll look you up!" And the crew and captain groaned loudly in response. She waved good bye and started her short walk towards the town of Banjo island. She had a smile on her lips as she put her pink cowboy hat on her head and pulled on her knapsack.

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><p>Hans Wanbe was a huge chunky man with thick brown hair, beady black eyes, and a most unpleasant face. From the age of eight, he had already decided banjo making was not his choice career in life. At the age of sixteen, he realized he actually quite hated banjos. Now in his late twenties, Hans Wanbe, after a short youth of disappointment and shame, decided he was to become a bandit. Yes, Hans the Bandit of Banjo Island he called himself, and he was very good at being a bandit indeed. Nothing could beat him, not ever again, he promised himself after that humiliating beating he took from a girl two years ago in a certain restroom in a certain bar.<p>

Already he had acquired his daily lunch money from a group of kids he happened to pass by in the morning. He had also managed to swindle an old man out of his pocket change, in which he pretended to be one of those people who asked for money to support the church. Hans the Bandit had also, successfully, declined to help a feeble old lady with a trembling cane cross the road. Indeed, he was a quite good at being a bandit.

Overall, Hans decided he was having a very nice day as he walked along the outskirts of town. He was quietly humming to himself in a cheerful tune when he spotted a girl headed in his direction.

Instantly, he dashed into the bushes and hid himself. He parted the branches a bit and watched the girl walking along the road. The girl must have been in her teens, looking to be sixteen or seventeen. She was quite average looking with her brown eyes and hair and looked very normal in her white t-shirt and shorts. She must have been a local, but he had never seen a towns person with a pink cowboy hat before. However, Hans realized this was his chance to assert himself as the fearless Bandit of Banjo Island. For who could exaggerate a crime more than a female? Why, if he merely touched her on the shoulder, she'd scream bloody murder and accuse him of rape, making a huge fuss over nothing! After all, isn't that what most women did? That, and sue of course.

And so, Hans the Bandit contrived to increase his fame by robbing the little lady that was now nearing his hiding place. With a low chuckle (and he did his best to make it sound evil), he jumped out of the bushes and yelled "Stand and deliver!"

The girl froze in her tracks and looked quite scared with her eyes wide and her mouth parted in an O-shape. Hans chuckled, indeed, she must have been quivering in her boots.

"Now, give me all your valuables girl and I, Hans Wanbe the Bandit of Banjo Island, will not harm you!"

He silently applauded his speech. The girl remained quiet, no doubt in terror at his appearance, Hans decided.

What Hans didn't know, however, was that the girl he had decided to rob was quite amazed at the person in front of her. Never before in her sev- nineteen years of life had she heard of such a long and strange title.

It was such a strange title, that Lori decided to make sure she got it right. "Did you say… Hans Won't Be the Bandit of Banjo Island?"

"That is correct! I am-" He stopped. "Wrong! I said, Hans Wanbe the Bandit of Banjo Island!" He crossed his arms in what he assumed was a menacing stance. His bottom lip jutting out in a sneer that looked more like a pout. In fact, he looked like he was a sulking oversized brat.

"Oh!" Lori clapped her hands together in understanding, nodding. "I get it. Hans the Wannabe Bandit of Banjo Island?"

"Yea- N-NO!" Hans blubbered out. He grew red in the face at the audacity of this impudent girl. "HANS WANBE THE BANDIT OF BANJO ISLAND!"

The girl covered her ears and winced. "Alright, alright. No need to yell Mr. Hans the Wannabe Bandit of Banjo Island."

Mr. Hans began to feel woozy, staggering over towards a tree to rest his hand on it in defeat. A sudden gloom passed by him and he felt very much like the worst bandit in history.

"Are you all right there Mr. Hans the Wanna-"

"Oh! Say no more, girl. You wound my pride. I shall die right here, a failure!"

Lori looked very shocked indeed. "Die? Whatever for?" She shook her head at the person who had now taken an 'OTL stance'. "Come my dear Mr. Hans, let's find us a bar shall we?"

And Mr. Hans the Wannabe Bandit of Banjo Island let the cheerful girl guide him towards town to a bar.

A moment later, Loriana Gale found herself to be in quite a strange situation.

"And then, and then, -hic- I said, 'No! I don't _want_ to be a banjo maker!' But nooo! Father said I –hic- He said –hic. …It was humiliating I say –hic- a girl, just like you, kicked me out of the men's restroom two years ago–hic- I've never lived it down since!" Mr. Hans took a swig of rum and with a last hiccup, passed out onto the bar. To which Lori immediately turned to the barkeep and said "Don't tell me all your bandits are like this?"

The barkeep shook her head and replied "No, we only have one bandit here and that's supposed to be him. But we usually just humor the poor lad."

Lori nodded her sympathies and decided to pay for his drink. "When does the log pose set on this island?"

"That would be just one day."

Lori took a sip of her own drink and thought for a while. With the last of her money gone paying for Mr. Han's and her drink, she decided it was probably a good idea to find a job. Preferably a short term job, with good pay. She realized she could just steal money, but that was a last resort. Plus, what kind of example would she be setting for the kids out there?

"Do you know any place in town that would hire and has good pay?" She asked the barkeep.

The woman nodded and pointed across the street. "That restaurant over there is need of a waitress. It seems they're having some trouble with a customer."

Lori raised an eyebrow. "What kind of trouble?"

"You'll know when you get there."

Lori mulled the idea over. She sighed. She did need money… but she didn't want trouble. Yet she needed to fund her journey somehow…

_To work or not to work- that is the question._

_Whether 'tis better to work and suffer_

_The probable danger that comes from trouble_

_Or to take my chance with questionable luck_

_And by working, get funds…_

Lori sighed. To work it is. With a last sip of her drink, she said her thanks, paid, and left for the restaurant across the road.

The restaurant wasn't very big, but it wasn't very small either. Actually, it looked very nice and Lori would have loved to dine there if she had the money. The outside of the restaurant was painted a brilliant white with brown trimmings on the door and windows. Overall, it was very inviting and Lori wondered what kind of trouble this restaurant could possibly have.

Just as Lori reached the door for the restaurant, she heard a loud crash inside. Glass shattered next to her as a bottle of champagne was thrown out the window. She stared wide eyed at the window next to her and was beginning to have some doubts about working here. As she backed away slowly, she heard someone shout.

"I said," A shrill voice yelled from inside. "More pizza!"

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><p><strong>Oooohh, I wonder what happens next? Haha, don't forget to review on your way out! Lalalala ta-ra~<strong>

**Poor Mr. Hans, it seems Lori was just too much for him. **

**Did anyone catch my references and parodies? LOL haha, I really need a life. To which I shall attend to now, good day love! :D**


	10. Chapter 10: More Pizza!

**Why hello there! It's been a while (dodges rocks), well I'll just leave this chapter and disclaimer here...**

**Disclaimer: One Piece is Oda's property. **

**Oh and, (dodges china bowl) I'll have to be honest here, this was the hardest chapter for me to write haha. It was also the most fun I had with... well whatever. It was definitely a great learning experience and now I realize I need more practice. *skips away towards the sunset***

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><p><em>Journal Log Entry #203<em>

_Dear Blank,_

_You may as well congratulate me. This has got to be the second time I woke up to having no memory of a previous event. I also woke up to a swollen hand print on the left side of my face and an aching backside. If I didn't know any better, I'd say I was just b-h slapped. Well, either way, I'm rich! -insert crazy maniacal laughter here- _

_I am so loaded, I just- I'm gonna roll around in my beri right now. Excuse me._

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><p>Loriana Gale slowly backed away from the restaurant front after seeing another window get smashed with what looked like a gravy bowl. This was definitely not the job for her, Lori realized. From the unhappy cries and demanding yells she was hearing, well, she figured she did <em>not<em> want to deal with dangerous sounding customers at the moment.

I could always look for another job, she thought wisely. A safer-sounding job, with insurance and health care! Preferably something with fringe benefits.

Just as she turned around to make her timely escape, the door slammed open to reveal an exasperated looking waiter. His uniform was splattered with wine and his hairpiece was skewed to the right with pieces of food stuck in his wig. His face was also red with what Lori sincerely hoped was ketchup. He looked left and right for somebody- anybody!- that could help. The townspeople milling around the road instinctively hastened to hide, some of them diving into alleys and trashcans. Unfortunately for Lori, she wasn't quick enough. He instantly noticed the young girl who had frozen in her tracks like a Sea King caught in Dracule Mihawk's path.

"Y-You! Please help us!" He cried out desperately. He hurried down the steps to grab the girl by the shoulders. "Please, please help us!" He started to sob and wipe snot and ketchup onto Lori's shirt, not releasing his hold on her at all, and mumbling into her shirt with what sounded like 'She's the devil! I've never seen anybody eat that much!' and 'Roger save us all!'

Lori on the other hand was extremely uncomfortable. The man was definitely not letting her go and he had an claw-like grasp on her shoulders. Moreover, she had no idea where to put her hands, which were wavering in the air between comforting the guy and fixing his headpiece which was slipping even further to the right to reveal a very bald, shiny head.

"Erm." She really didn't want to help. She still needed her life (thank you very much), but the man was making things so difficult for her to refuse.

Especially with what he said next.

"We'll pay you. However much you need. We'll pay whatever you want!"

Oh dear. What ever shall she do? Lori's eyes had already begun to gleam with greed. Her greedy side of conscience said "Think of all that beri!" Yet a more sensible side of her said "…You could do a lot with that much beri."

Curses, it seems even greed could triumph over sense.

Lori sighed heavily since she had no choice but to help. Besides, the man wasn't going to take a no for an answer anyways. So Lori patted the sniveling man on the back, briefly, before taking his wig and shaking out the pieces of food. Placing it back on the man's balding head, she said "All right. I'll help you."

The yelling customer was quite literally…a big eater. She could eat plates and plates of food, and not those regular size plates. She could eat those huge pizza platters stacked high with bacon wrapped sausages, triple layered cheeseburgers, jumbo sized chili hotdogs, deep butter-fried chicken topped with spicy hot sauce, and whatever other greasy food a person could name. She could eat twenty of those platters, on a bad day. But she isn't just a big eater, she's a pirate; and what do pirates do? They terrorize people; and that's exactly what she was doing, while eating trays of food of course. She was having a mighty good time of it too. At first the people in the restaurant were giving her glares of disgust next to whispering disapprovals of her table manners. Those glares quickly turned into terror and those whispers quickly transformed into cries of shock as she gave a particularly offensive person a 'diaper change'. She was enjoying the looks of horror the other customers gave her after she turned that person into an infant with her devil fruit powers. She turned a couple others also to drive her message clear.

And now, the only customer in the restaurant yelled "Where's my food?" The other customers had long since escaped like scampering mice, and how very wise of them indeed. Now there was more food for her, and that was the way the pirate liked it.

The restaurant was cleared of every table save for the large round one in the middle. The table was piled high with several dishes and empty plates. Stacks of bowls were in danger of tipping over. Bottles of wine were left on the floor around the table. Pizza platters were left to the side with very little remains still on it. At the head of the table was the slim, pink-headed customer devouring what was left of her extra large pepperoni and mushroom pizza with cheese stuffed crust. The woman used both hands to stuff whatever she could into her mouth and would occasionally toss an empty plate or bowl aside. Then she slammed her feet onto the table and with a loud burp, shrieked "More pizza!"

The waiters and waitresses cowered in fear, no one willing to step up. A round of cries came from a corner of the restaurant. Babies crawling in their oversized clothes were crying for their mothers. While in another corner, elderly people were shrieking for their diapers to be changed. The restaurant staff didn't want to suffer a fate like their companions.

"Didn't you hear our captain you idiots?" A huge man wearing suspenders bellowed from behind the pink-haired glutton. The room was instantly silent of sniveling sniffs and nervous shuffling, save for the chomping of food coming from the only woman sitting down. "We're the Bonney Pirates, and this is our captain Big Eater Jewelry Bonney! If you don't want to die, get us some food!"

The pirates surrounding their captain all yelled and cheered.

"You idiots should be celebrating our arrival on the Grand Line." The suspenders man roared with a huge pirate grin. The waiters and waitresses whimpered in fear. They had never heard of these pirates before, but surely this was a name that would soon be famous. They had already seen how powerful the pirate was.

Suddenly the loud chewing and chomping, slurping and burping, crunching and gnawing of food, stopped ominously.

_Crash!_

Jewelry Bonney kicked a stack of large soup bowls over, sending it crashing to the floor. Bonney was beginning to become irritable, and a tad bit bored. It was her bad luck to pick a route that started off with a boring island like this. This was the Grand Line? She had been expecting something far more interesting, like that giant whale she had seen before. The only thing that could possibly make her feel better was another platter of sausage and avocado pizza with double stuffed crust.

She kicked another pile of dishes over.

The staff flinched from her abuse of bowls ("That was the good china!") and backed up as far as they could, which apparently wasn't very far as they started to step on each other's toes.

"Well?" She said with grinding teeth, "Where's my food?"

The staff began to bawl even more. What could they tell her? The food had already run out a long while ago. They had a feeling she wasn't going to forgive them if they told her that.

Just as the pirate captain opened her cherry-chapped mouth to demand more food, or to possibly turn the waiters into retirees, there was a noisy slam of doors in the back. A skinny waitress came bustling out with a tall tray of food in each hand and quickly flitted towards the pirate seated at the table.

"Sorry, sorry. Trouble with the oven. Here's your pizza miss." The waitress handed the pirates their food and quickly stepped back. Shooting the cowering staff a look, the waitress made a furious flapping motion of her hand behind her back. The staff, a little too slowly, got the message and they all fled as fast as they could towards the kitchen while tumbling over one another, only too pleased to escape the room.

The pink haired pirate moodily watched the servers get away, feeling as if she had just been played. Then she gave the smiling waitress a contemptuous sniff before turning her attention to the mountain of food in front of her.

"Who are you?" Bonney demanded as she took a huge slice of the pizza from the tray and chewed with an open mouth, the occasional spittle flying out.

"Nobody." The brunette said with an ever present smile, perhaps a bit too quickly. "No one of importance Miss Pirate." Bonney narrowed her eyes at this.

"I'm just a waitress." The girl said evenly.

Somehow Bonney didn't believe that. This girl was a little strange, if not stupid. Couldn't she analyze the situation? She was all alone in a room with pirates and people that were turned into geezers and brats. It doesn't take much to put two and two together. Especially with no other customers in sight. Anybody would have realized something had happened, and the likely suspects would be the pirates lounging in the middle of the room. Also, who would willingly come out of hiding to serve pirates by herself?

Bonney shoved another pizza slice into her mouth and stared suspiciously at the waitress whose smile appeared to be twitching. She looked really plain to Bonney, and yet there was something about her that was… off. Bonney scrutinized the sweating waitress in front of her, racking her mind for something just out of reach.

On the other hand, Lori was frantically searching for a way to escape the room. She didn't like the way the pirate was analyzing her. Looking over the pink haired woman, she also didn't like the way her crew was jeering at her. The big men were all staring at her like she was some kind of lamb and they were all licking their lips as if they had spotted desert. A couple of them even winked at her.

Lori shuddered. Gross.

She was starting to regret taking the job, even for the insane amount of beri the man offered her before. Barging into the restaurant through the kitchen, Lori had taken a couple of seconds to analyze the room. There were a bunch of old people and toddlers in two corners of the room. No other customers accept the pretty woman and tough looking people in the middle.

They were obviously pirates. The waiters and waitresses were all trembling in their uniforms for Rogers sake.

What bothered her was the piles of clothes in the corner of the room the babies were crawling around in. Either a bunch of people just disappeared without their clothes and were running around naked or something weird was going on.

Lori's face twitched. She had been smiling for the past ten minutes and she was beginning to get numb in the face. She'd have to make an excuse to escape soon.

"You look familiar." The pink haired pirate decided suddenly, startling Lori from her thoughts. Her solid smile wavered briefly, before it came back stronger, if not forced.

"What do you mean?" Lori asked now. Escape would come later. For now, she needed to figure out what this pirate meant. Familiar? This was definitely going to be trouble.

"Hah?" Bonney let out an irritated huff. That was exactly what she was trying to figure out. She didn't know _where_ or _how_ she knew, but this person was definitely familiar. She was sure of it. Just…_where_ did she see this waitress before? Bonney began tapping her fingers on the table, her other hand holding up the slice of pizza she was slowly chewing on in contemplation.

Lori waited for her answer impatiently. What does she mean _familiar_? Her mind was racing as she tried to figure out Bonney's meaning. She tried to think back on whether she had met this pirate before also, but she couldn't remember. Lori knew who this was. The rookie pirate Jewelry Bonney that had just come from South Blue, however that was all she knew. She had heard about the pirate from the crying man that recruited her into waitressing before.

South Blue. The sea she herself had come from.

This could mean trouble, Loriana realized again.

Lori stopped herself from lunging forward to shake an answer out of the pirate that was lost in her thoughts. If only Lori could remember if she met this pirate before or not!

She cursed herself for getting hit on the head. Did this pirate meet her during the Negated Times, or was it from…before? If it was from the Negated Times, then she was fine. But if it was before….

Lori thought about the gun she had strapped to her hip, hidden underneath her flouncy waitress uniform. Her eyes traveled to Bonney's crew. They looked pretty strong and they also outnumbered her. The pirate captain herself was definitely a force to be reckoned with. Lori quickly glanced at the elders and toddlers that were still in their respective corners.

This person might have a devil fruit ability, Lori thought. If that's true, I wouldn't be able to take her. Her crew would also be a problem, although they were inattentive right now. They wouldn't be ready for a surprise attack. What is my probability of success? What escape routes are available for me in case of failure? Wh-

Lori blinked suddenly. What the hell was she thinking? She wouldn't be able to take them on by herself, and more over, what exactly had she been about to plan? The mass murder of a pirate crew? As if. She hardly even knew how to fire a gun. Loriana gripped her wrist tightly, fingering the silver wristband that seemed to incase her wrist.

Lori let out a slow, calming breath and quickly fixed her face into a pleasant and friendly one. "Miss? I can assure you I have never met you in my life. If you haven't noticed already, I'm pretty average looking and normal. Perhaps you have me confused with someone else?" That's right, downplay the encounter. She was a nobody, and that's what she was striving for.

Bonney raised an eyebrow. She had a point. That was also possible, and it was highly unlikely that she knew this person. After all, they had just arrived in the Grand Line. It was impossible… and yet there was still this inkling feeling she had.

Bonney frowned, her eyes on the waitress again. It was just a second, but she could have sworn the waitress had a cold and calculating expression on her face just a minute ago. However, it was quickly replaced with a smile. An irritatingly pleasant looking smile.

The pirate captain kicked a couple of plates over. Loriana flinched, but stood rooted to the spot.

How annoying. Bonney thought, incredibly pissed off now. Forget this! It's not worth my time.

She suddenly stood from her seat, and took a swift step towards Loriana and shoved the shocked waitress, none to softly with her boots, onto the floor.

"Hey!" Lori exclaimed, falling onto the wooden floors and landing on her back painfully.

Bonney swung her glare down towards the infuriating waitress and snarled disdainfully. "That's what you get for pissing me off." She turned around abruptly with her pink hair swishing and sat back down to continue plowing through her tray of food, eating with a vengeance for the lost time spent on thinking about annoying things she couldn't remember.

After a while, Lori got up from the floor using a massive amount of effort. Her butt was most definitely bruised, and her back was also in pain. Jewelry Bonney certainly shoved her pretty violently.

How rude! Lori thought venomously as she brushed dust off herself. Her hands quivered slightly. That's strange. Why are my hands shaking? She looked down. Why are my legs shaking?

Lori tilted her head to the right in puzzlement. She shook her legs out and her joints cracked.

Oooh, that felt nice. She spent a couple minutes cracking her bones and joints, rolling her head in a circle and cracking her knuckles.

That feels much better.

Now, what was she thinking about again? She couldn't remember. Loriana looked around the room in a daze.

"Ahh, what a mess this room is." She spotted a pink-haired youth sitting down at a table, plowing through her second pizza. "You there, whippersnapper , don't you know how to clean?"

The pirate captain looked at the aged waitress. "Hah?" Bonney looked at the quivering old lady in disbelief.

Did she just call me whippersnapper? Bonney raised her eyebrows, unsure on whether to feel offended or amused. She decided for simple disbelief. Behind her, the Bonney Pirates exchanged smirks and pointed thumbs at the old lady as if to say "Can you believe this lady?"

"Yes, I'm talking to you, young 'in! Gracious, what have your parents taught you!" She exclaimed. "Have some manners will you child? Take your feet off this table." Granny Lori slowly shuffled over to the table and pulled a chair out to sit on, right across from the purple eyed pirate.

Women her age shouldn't be standing after all. She was eighty-seven, or eighty-nine. She wasn't sure, but Lori did know her feet deserved rest. Her back was killing her as well.

Bonney watched the old woman with a wary expression. She finished her second pizza and moved on to a third, all the while keeping an eye on Granny Lori who seemed to be eyeing her also.

Bonney was starting to get a bad feeling about this.

"What the hell are you looking at?" Bonney demanded with a scowl. She was only slightly disturbed by seeing the now aged Lori wearing a waitress uniform meant for a healthy and young teenager. She shuddered. It was creepy and gross.

Granny Lori tsked. "Language!" She shook her head and looked Bonney up and down.

"Such a pretty child. It _is_ such a shame to see you hanging around those ugly men behind you." Bonney's crew dropped their mouths in offense. Lori leaned forward conspiratorially. "If you ask me, you deserve much better looking men." She raise an eyebrow and grinned toothily.

Bonney blinked in shock. _What the-_

She was _not_ having this conversation with this person.

Granny Lori nodded her head in approval and sat back, taking Bonney's silence as consent. "Indeed my dear, you deserve a much handsomer fellow. I have a couple of men in mind too, or do you already have a boyfriend eh? Surely a gal like you has already snagged yourself a man?"

Bonney dropped her jaw, almost gagged, and she put her pizza slice down. She raised her eyebrows at the audacity of this lady and stuttered "I-I…"

The eighty-something-year old Lori smiled benevolently and reached out to place her withered hand on Bonney's trembling hand that was slowly curling into a fist.

Dear me, Lori thought, this poor child needs a fairy godmother in her life. Well it's up to me now. The poor girl probably doesn't even realize how lonely she must be! _Everybody should have a somebody!_

She shook her head sadly at the red-faced pirate captain.

"It's all right dear, there's no shame in not having a boyfriend. Leave it to Granny Lori! How about I introduce you to some handsome looking men I've been hearing about in the newspapers? I hear this Eustass boy is making a name for himself, or do you like this other boy Trafalgar better?" She winked at the pirate across from her. "I hear this Trafalgar boy is a doctor! Fancy that."

_What the f-_

If Bonney wasn't so horrified at the moment, she would most definitely have face-palmed herself. She was _not_ have this conversation with a- a fake granny for Roger's sake.

Granny Lori suddenly gave Bonney a shrewd look. "Don't tell me… you like younger men?"

Bonney slammed her hands furiously onto the dining table and stood abruptly. "That is it!" She shrieked and kicked the table over, platters and bowls falling over and sent shattering, lunging for the grandma across from her. She grabbed the granny by the collar, and before anybody could think "Elderly abuse!" she slapped Loriana so hard, she was sent flying across the room.

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><p><strong>LOL I'm sorry I couldn't help it. I thought about the different things that Lori could do to get back to normal in a single chapter and well... that was it. LMAO! <strong>

**For real? I know_ I _gag every time my grandmother says something about future husbands and blah.**

**Don't forget to review and leave suggestions! :D**


	11. Chapter 11: My Little Pony

**PLEASE READ AUTHOR'S NOTE! IMPORTANT UPDATE! READ IT! GRRR.**

**Hello there fellow friends! *dodges knives* It's been awhile since I last updated this story and I have to apologize, profusely. *drops and rolls from grenade* Hey lets be civil here... Please imagine that I am kneeling down and lowering my head in apology. Sorry! Really. Anyways, this chapter comes with a bit of bad news. D: Yeah I know, but don't worry! I'm not giving up on this story! **

**I've decided to put another fanfiction as priority, _Wrinkles and Diapers_. So if you get sick of waiting for this _Finding You Again_, please visit_ WaD_ instead. I'll be updating that one more frequently. Of course, I might surprise you guys with an update for _FYA_ on occasion. Yup, the reason why I haven't been updating is because of that story! And yes, I realize it was a bad idea to start another fanfiction, but I couldn't pass up the idea for that one and my fingers were itching to write it! It's a Law/OC story, so if any of you kind folks are interested in that please read! :D**

**Also, thank you to Mikila94, Chuu112, and random Guest for your Chapter 10 reviews. And thank you to all you patient folks out there, this chapter is for you peeps. :D**

**Disclaimer: One Piece isn't mine. There.**

****PLEASE READ AUTHOR'S NOTE! IMPORTANT UPDATE! READ IT! GRRR.****

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><p><em>Journal Entry #103<em>

_I've gotten myself into a little bit of a pinch. Just a little bit. You see, when I first arrived on Pinying Island, I had the sudden great idea to go get drunk. And you know what a drunk Lori's like. I- well, I'm not exactly proud of drunk Lori you could say. Let's just say... I accidentally smashed a bottle of cognac on an up-and-coming gang boss. And then I accidentally kneed him in the groin. Then I just happened to insult his mother. Yup. I'm not proud of drunk mother-insulting Lori. _

_Now I'm hiding in some dark and damp alley while his pea-brained minions are looking for me. Ehh, maybe it's time I leave this place. Which is what I'd like to do, but the log pose hasn't set yet. Freaking pineapples. Heh- pineapples. _

_Oh shit- (unintelligible scrawls)._

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><p>Lori's combat boots landed with a soft flump on the sandy beach of Pinying Island, causing a swirl of white sand to rise into the air. She sneezed, and before putting her cowboy hat and knapsack on, she wiped the snot hanging off her nose with her white tee collar-making yet another stain. She realized she was being quite unsanitary, but really. Adventures were <em>so <em>over-romanticized. There was only so much a girl could do in the middle of the ocean to keep clean. There was also many things that a person had to consider when taking an extended adventure-vacation. Why, there was the food and water, firstly. Sleeping arrangements. Then the bathroom necessity. Don't get her started _there_. What with the rare porcelain toilets and scarce toilet paper and gosh not the _hair_. Ooh, and the shower head stalls? (Pfft, who needs them? Lakes were fine.) There was also sickliness (scurvy, for one). And then money. Always money. Good thing she was stinkin' rich right now.

Cleanliness was a much elusive fairy on the sea. Which was why she didn't bother much except to keep decent looking. Ish. She usually cleaned up well when she popped onto another island though, so who was complaining?

Lastly, there was the boredom. Endless days sailing on water. Nobody should really blame her if she liked to pull a couple pranks here and there. Sure, most people could do without. Yet Lori often spent days on the water without any company since she wanted to travel solo. Little wonder how much time she put into plotting various schemes to pull a fast one over any special suckers she took a liking to. She had a dedicated little section in her new journal for the pranks.

Other than her conniving, there was really nothing else she could do but write and write some more about her adventures. There was singing, but not even she wanted to hear her tonelessness 24/7. It was actually quite amazing that Lori hadn't gone crazy(-er) with only herself and the fishies to talk to. Anybody without a strong mind would go a little mad at hearing their own mental voice for too long a time in solitude. A neverending static, especially for a mind like Lori's. The constant arguing, the incessant worrying, the suggestions inside her head.

And then that one. That other voice that she tried her best to ignore. The one that keep telling her to go home, and that it's been far too long. Playtime was over. You've found One Piece, or so the journal had said. Now it's time to go 'home.'

Then Lori would sing loudly and tunelessly to drown out that stupid nagging voice.

Luckily, Lori hadn't had too long a voyage to Pinying Island. Only a day and a half. It was enough time to make another list of pranks to pull, and a list of things to buy at the city she had spotted as she came closer to the coastline. The city was shiny, with mini skyscrapers and neon signs she could see from even miles away. She couldn't wait to see the sights and the people. Following the log pose, she was sure this was the next island she had stopped at after Banjo Island during the Negated Times (she still thought that name sounded cool in her head). There was also this memory tugging in her head that made her feel nostalgic. This was the course, no question about it.

Lori had tied her teeny boat to a tree hanging over the beach shore. Before stepping off the boat, she had made sure to take a small bag of beri with her and a bit of food to eat on the fifteen minute walk to the city along the coastline. She stashed the rest of her beri in the secret compartment of the boat hidden under the seat, right next to her bottles of pink dye and glitter. Then she set off towards the city humming a little tune that reminded her of little ponies with attitude.

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><p>From the dark tangled mess of a jungle, two pairs of dark brown eyes watched as Lori walked towards the big city. One pair of eyes were set on the Lori's boat, while the other was flickering between the distant figure and a small photo in her little hands.<p>

"That's her! I know it's her, look at the picture Gēgē." The little girl excitedly pointed at a photo, showing her elder brother with a big grin. "We found her! Now we can-"

"Turn her in to the hēibāng lǎodà. Then steal her boat." He finished sharply. "Let's go tell the lǎodà, Lán." He turned to leave towards the city dragging his sister with her by the wrist.

Lán's expression fell. "But Gēgē..."

"It's been two years. We've waited long enough to escape." He carefully winded through the jungle, helping his sister climb over logs and parting branches for her. "...We've waited long enough." He repeated, dark brown eyes intent on something far away.

Lán frowned, but regardless followed her brother through the jungle. She cast a sad look over her shoulder.

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It seemed that the moment Lori had stepped into the city, she was swept into the currents of the crowd, twisting and turning her until she was quite confused about where she was headed. She realized with swiftness that her pink cowboy hat was too eye-catching in this crowd, and so when she had gotten the chance she escaped into a little alley to take a breather and stuff her hat into her black hole of a knapsack. In this sort of city, there were too many things happening to pay attention to anything. At the very least she should make herself blend in so that she could observe without catching any unwanted attention.

Just as Lori turned around to throw herself back into the sea of people, a gust of wind blew a dirty piece of paper onto her face.

"Bleh!" She cried, wrinkling her nose and peeling the paper off with disdain. What a brave piece of paper, daring to smack her in the face. She was about to crumple the worn piece of paper up when she realized it was an old wanted poster. Her eyes widened in disbelief and her jaw dropped a couple millimeters.

It read: Wanted, Dead or Alive.

Ana, The Actor.

The reward amount was illegible.

The picture was slightly blurry, but Lori could make out a girl with a short bob hairstyle wearing a wide-rimmed hat that kept the snow from falling on her head. The shadow of the hat covered part of her face, but her eyes were barely visible. Her eyes were coldly staring sideways at the cameraman. Her demeanor was very offhanded, almost bored.

And of course, _of course_.

It was her.

Two- no, three years ago. It was a picture taken by a colleague. That jerk.

Judging by the state of the poster, it had been posted up a long while ago, probably snatched off a wall by the strength of the wind. She'd give it a year or two. It must have been issued during the time she had gone on her little adventure.

Which only meant one thing. The photo was leaked to the marines with the nickname 'The Actor' to accompany it.

If she wasn't trying to stop her habit of profanity, she would have cursed a few choice words that started with F (don't forget the -ing) and S (in italics to emphasize). Notably, the S-word would be another word for poop, dung, feces, crap, cow pies, manure, or- her personal favorite because it sounded very posh- ordure.

Yep. That bastard. Did bastard count as a curse word? Oops. That...jerk. Gosh this was making her vocabulary very small indeed.

Either way, this was something that explained many things for Lori. Firstly, Bonney. She had said something about looking familiar, though she couldn't quite place it since the picture was old and really the two Lori's are so very different now. Bonney must have seen the wanted poster sometime in the span of two years ago. So they really hadn't met at all face-to-face before their last encounter. No memories needed to figure that out. Secondly, she had wondered for some time now what her former colleagues were doing about her disappearance for the past two years. Well this explained it. They had been actively searching for her, even going as far as making a wanted poster with the marines label on it. They were looking for her, and they knew what she looked like. It meant her adventures wasn't just that, it was also a game of hide-and-seek. And lastly, tying in with number two, they were trying to contact her. If the nickname wasn't clue enough as a message, then the name Ana was. Something was going to happen. They wanted her back... but for what?

Although she should have been mortified by the fact that she was no longer able to enjoy some carefree travel time, she actually felt a little bit of anxiety. Oh wait. No that was the adrenaline. Her mistake. She was excited, even though she shouldn't be. Because she was supposed to feel horrified, not giddy. She worked her face into an unhappy look she hoped would soon mirror her emotions. However a small grin worked its way to her lips.

The Actor.

She felt a bit appreciative of the title they had given her. Although she would have preferred it if they hadn't slapped her face onto a wanted poster along with it. It made going around inconspicuous a little harder. And if need be, she would never be able to use the name Ana without its risks.

Lori folded the wanted poster, putting it in her journal and then stuffing it into her bag.

At least now she knew she had to be wary. However the poster made her wonder whether the Lori during the Negated Times had noticed the wanted poster. She must have- if it meant that she hadn't been captured yet. She bit her lips, wondering "What now?" aloud. She fingered the silver bracelet around her wrist. There was no way she would let them take her back, and there was no way she would go back herself.

There was still an adventure to be had.

Lori sucked in a lungful of air and breathed out.

Right. One Piece, remember?

Deciding to find the nearest tavern to get information, Loriana stepped back out into the crowd to let herself be given a sightseeing tour via mob traffic.

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><p>Ace landed on the opposite side of Pinying Island from where Lori had docked. He had arrived there strikingly fast... on his Striker. It wasn't a coincidence that Ace had come to Pinying Island. He was following a trail, and he was hot on in. Pun not intended (Maybe). A little earlier in his pursuit of Lori, he had stopped by at the Twin Capes. A word with Crocus the lighthouse keeper and he knew Lori hadn't made it all the way to the Capes. He wasn't about to give up though. With the surprisingly great memory of the old Crocus, Ace was pointed towards the island Loriana had first gone to two years ago. It seemed Lori was able to make an impression on the old guy. When Ace had asked, Crocus merely grunted and drank a bigger gulp of rum.<p>

At Banjo Island, Ace had no trouble whatsoever finding traces of Lori. It certainly helped that there was only one small town on the entire island. A word with the barkeep at the local tavern revealed that Lori had been looking for a job. One look at the poor restaurant Lori had worked at showed that there was quite a scuffle she had been involved in. The owner had told him that Lori was paid generously for getting rid of a dangerous rookie pirate. Apparently she had already left for the next island on route. Pinying Island.

Ace was already raring to go after her. However on the way back to his Striker he had run into a small encounter.

A large blubbery man jumped out of the bushes and yelled "Stand and deliver!" The poor fellow was trying to rob him blind. Ace could have knocked him flat, but he felt a strange pity for the man whose name was something wannabe bandit. After smacking the guy to get his undivided attention, Ace had given the bandit a couple of pointers. He spent a short while giving the man lessons on how to act tough and intimidating. The guy took furious notes and nodded every so often sitting on the dirt road. However in the end Ace recommended the man to follow another occupation, maybe something in trade. After his short impromptu lesson, Ace left the man (who thanked Ace profusely on his knees) and immediately headed towards Pinying Island.

Upon sight of the island, Ace blew out a furious breath. Finally! That Lori was going to be caught by him at last. The log pose would not set until a week has passed. Which meant he had some time to find her on the island. Plenty of time for him.

As he stepped onto the beach, a large grin split his face. "You're going down, Lori!"

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The more Lori saw the place, the more she felt there was something wrong about it. Walking around the area, she could see towering buildings made of metal and neon signs that pointed towards little businesses set full of yelling owners. Wires were strewn overhead between buildings and worn out red lanterns decorated parts of the area. From far away, the city had looked very clean and pretty with the shine the metal reflected from the sun. However, up close and personal, the city was... a little run down. Like a downtown. She snorted. Anywho, the streets were rather worse for wear, with potholes and uneven dirt and cement in places. Floating along with the crowd, Lori noticed that the inhabitants of this city were quite skittish, jumping at sudden sounds and biting their bottom lips as if they were worried about something.

There was something wrong with this place she realized, and Lori intended to find out what.

For a while now she had been feeling anxious. Not excited anxious, but nervous anxious. The city brought up some kind of gnawing in her mind. She felt as if there was something she needed to do, and quick. However she didn't know what. She bit her own lip in frustration, but nevertheless decided to find the nearest bar to gather information. She'd tried asking around the crowd, but they had shrugged her off and hurried off to wherever they were going in a faster pace. That was when Lori noticed the people didn't even look at each other, didn't even talk to each other. There was something really wrong with this place.

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><p><strong><strong>Gosh, the doc manager thing is pissing me off with it's disappearing dividing lines. If it seems like the perspective switch was a bit jarring, that probably means there was a dividing line that had disappeared because doc manager is a douche. Sorry! I'll replace it with several xxxxx's to imitate a borderline.<strong>**

**Yuuupp. Does it seem like Lori's mind state and weirdness is a bit more explained now? Meh. Review and tell me what you think! If there's anything that doesn't seem to make sense tell me, because it's been awhile since I last looked this fanfiction over.**

**hēibāng lǎodà = gang boss**

**lǎodà= boss **

**Lán= delicate orchid**

****Gēgē= older brother****

****Pinying Island is inspired from a Chinatown. Pinying doesn't actually mean anything that I know of but the word is similar to Pinyin which is the name for the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Latin alphabet "a, b, c, etc". ****

****I feel like I'm forgetting something... oh well. Please visit _Wrinkles and Diapers_ everyone!****


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